Enshadowed - Magic Chaos Psychedelia (2013)

Another of the lesser known Greek black metal acts I encountered as I was covering that comprehensive Hellenic reviews project a few years back; Enshadowed released a pair of records earlier on in the 21st century which arrived with little fanfare and have since been all but forgotten. Both were decent if not exceptional outings, which suffered largely from a lack of distinction amongst a crowded European field, and the band went into a bit of a torpor, issuing only some split tracks in the ensuing decade. Now, they have returned for their third full-length Magic Chaos Psychedelia, the title of which hints at a possibly advance in atmospherics, but on listening to this, I was surprised at how little the band had changed at its core from Intensity...

Not that this would necessarily be a bad thing, but apart from the album's production, which is crisper and cleaner than anything I've hear of theirs in the past, this is hardly an advancement over what they were doing 10 years ago. Similar to Eschaton, Acherontus, and a handful of other Greek bands, Enshadowed do not chase after that same sense of cultural uniqueness and heavy metal influence that inspired their better known peers like Rotting Christ; rather this is more of what you'd expect from any number of Norwegian or Swedish acts from the 90s and beyond. Spikes of dissonant melody, overt death metal influences in the vocals and tremolo riffing progressions, and familiar, faster paced blasting sequences all recount veterans from Emperor and Marduk, who themselves often walked the line between the two extremities. The songs are admittedly choppy, with enough variation between them to keep the brain from falling asleep, and there were pieces here like "The Scenario" or "Surrealistic Shade of Color Black" where I was almost hearing a nice Morbid Angel strut to some of the riffing, but in general I wasn't too impressed with the guitars in terms of memorable developments.

Probably the most interesting piece was the closer, "Magic Chaos Psychedelia" itself, which featured some quivering female vocals and a more ethnic/tribal current amidst the slower, airier black/doom guitars, but it comes so late in the track list that you have to wonder how much more compelling the entire album might have proven with more such instances. The album has a very dry and present mix, exceptional in terms of clarity, and the performances of the musicians are all around tightly unleashed. In particular, the guitars really stand out with a lot of punch for their palm-muted impacts, and a lot of 'razor shine' to to the higher pitched atonal chord progressions. But the drums have a nice, compact, energetic ballast, and the bass guitar is decent if not outstanding. Serpent's rasping is nothing you wouldn't expect from a hundred other bands of similar tastes, but he does really feel out the inflection of his syllables with some added grind, and other snarls and growls are often layered in for a more dramatic, psychotic effect. Ultimately, as professional as this sounds, though, Magic Chaos Psychedelia just doesn't bring enough new or interesting to the table that I could highly recommend it; but if you're looking for more in the vein of European black or black/death with fairly high production standards (Marduk, Enthroned, 1349, etc) it wouldn't hurt to give this a chance.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.enshadowed.co.nr/

Enshadowed - Intensity (2003)

After their debut Messengers of the Darkest Dawn came and went with little attention against the vast European landscape of samey sounding black metal artists, Greeks Enshadowed decided on a change-up to their approach. Not only by adding color to the cover art, but also morphing into an evenly distributed hybrid of the death and black metal genres. Intensity still features the band's penchant for blazing rhythms, blast beats and harsh snarling, but here they have measured it off against brutal semi-tech chug riffing and a prevalent guttural drawl. So, not only will you hear the influence of the usual suspects like Marduk, Emperor and Enthroned, but also a bluster of 21st century Polish death like Behemoth or Vader.

There's no denying that this makes for a more curious and compelling range of dynamics, but unfortunately there are very few memorable moments on the sophomore to capitalize on their newfound musical breadth. Each of the tracks here has at least one exciting sequence, like the Morbid Angel style lead explosion in "Mental Irruption" (around the 4 minute mark) or the brick hurling post-Slayer acceleration after the opening riff of "Obvious Inexistence". Or the writhing and crushing whirlwinds invoked in "Horrenda Nox" or "Purity's Failure". But, try as they might, I always had the feeling that they were right on the threshold of excellence, and never quite capable of following it through. They build these brisk, brutal passages and then never seem to engage in anything climactic to top them off.

It's not for lack of competence, for the drums and guitars are maniacal, and while they often tend towards monotony, the vocals are functional and the splitting of the black/death metal axis does serve to reduce any possible predictability. The production here is also monstrous, far cleaner than the debut album with a thick, plucking bass tone and polished guitars. Intensity might be the sort of thing you're chasing if you dig Polish bands like Behemoth or Hate, who have straddled both the black and death genres, 'blackened death metal' or whatever the shit people call it. It's a fairly unbridled display of force. And yet, there is so little to come back to here, as the concept of subtlety and truly memorable riffing seems to evade its grasp.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (my hate is contagious)

http://www.enshadowed.co.nr/

Enshadowed - Messengers of the Darkest Dawn (2002)

Enshadowed were a fairly productive band in the underground through the late 90s, releasing a demo each year from 1998-91 as 'Nocternity Enshadowed', obviously dropping the former due to the fellow Greek black metal of the same name. So they took their sweet time refining their musical ability and production standards, and then ultimately adopting a logo which looks nary a spitting image of the one used by Belgium's Enthroned. I mean, seriously, would it have killed them to do a little research before choosing that design? Seems like a lazy and illogical choice, especially when one considers that the Greek band sounds somewhat similar in style.

At any rate, the band's considerable practice almost pays off on their debut Messengers of the Darkest Dawn, because if anything, this is a very solid album, with strong and hyperkinetic drumming that easily drives the wall of force guitars, and massive, resonant rasping that delivers upon the grim promise of the shadowy cover image. They also concoct a few cool, clinical riffing sequences in "War and Damnation" and "Jesus Christ Cage" which hint that the band might fare better if they spent just an inkling more time composing their songs. There's even one creepy, melodic passage that opens the closer "Gospel of Death" which is damn near brilliant, gleaming and ghostly synthesizers moving in slower paced tandem with the dissonant ringing guitars, but sadly this eventually devolves into messy, blasting noise.

Alas, that 2-3 minutes of the album in total is the exception to the rule here, for the majority of Messengers is little more than a competent retread of grounds previously covered by bands like Marduk, Dark Funeral, Satyricon and the aforementioned Enthroned. There's not a lot of rhythmic variation in what they write, so you have to feed off the sheer power and speed alone, and while the drummer 'Grahelm' really knows what's up, and the guitars all perform with a studied precision, they're just not that interesting. The lyrics all revolve around the familiar anti-Christian or archaic, north European passions (i.e. "Northbound"), and the atmosphere invoked is efficiently bleak and hostile, but they never quite reach the ripping and maniacal despotism inherent in a Vobiscum Satanas, or a Panzer Division Marduk. Another case of just about every base being covered except for the lion's share of the songwriting.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.enshadowed.co.nr/