Review by Tobias on December 28, 2001.

Carnal Forge is definitely taking shape as one of the prominent bands of the new thrash madness movement in metal. Utilizing the same raging speed and intensity of Soilwork, as well as some of the crunching and ripping precision of Ebony Tears, the band definitely has a solid hold on the growing niche of melodic thrash metal.

The most impressive aspect of the musicianship on this album is definitely the string-work. The guitars create all the melody and variation on the album, ranging from solid riffs to some fantastic and unusual licks.

While the rhythm section is as taught as a high-wire, it seems that its main focus is to blind the listener with blistering speed which can only allow so much room for growth and diversity. Instrumentally, this is where the band needs to take a breather and weigh out the benefits of rigid speed versus dynamic varying speed.

Interestingly enough, while I enjoy the vocal performance and wish that there were many more bands out there that would have the balls to use thrashy screams rather than the ever-safe black metal scream, the vocals of Carnal Forge seem to suffer a similar fate as the percussion; there are not enough dynamics to create the melody or to give a unique edge to individual songs.

Once again, I want to say that the guitars hold a massive intensity and creativity that carries this band well above the mediocre.

Bottom Line: A speed thrashing good time with balls of steel, but thirsting for a few more dynamics to give it an edge above the best.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality: 6
Overall: 7

Rating: 6.8 of 10

Review by Fernando on November 17, 2025.

When I first got into black metal, there were a lot of bands that I would frequently hear about, and some of them had various arguments about their “best” eras, depending on who the vocalist was. Such is the case with the longstanding Belgian black metal band Enthroned. A band that has been around since the heyday of the subgenre in the mid-90s and is often seen as their country’s premier black metal act. However, much like other bands of their time, they’ve had a long, storied career with various lineup changes, though the most significant was when original vocalist and bassist Lord Sabathan left the band, and guitarist Nornagest stepped in as frontman.

Despite the still ongoing debates about Enthroned before and after 2006, under the leadership of Nornagest and for a good 20 years by now, Enthroned has morphed into a completely different beast altogether, not just the obvious difference in vocals, but musically, aesthetically, and even spiritually.

And after 19 years, 5 albums, and their most radical lineup shift since 2006, the band has unleashed Ashspawn a record that the band describes as the start of their new era. With such lofty claims, there’s a clear setting of expectations for something different from what came before, and the obvious one is the lineup; Nornagest is still the band’s orator and scribe and is still accompanied by master percussionist and audio producer Menthor, but the lineup now features T. Kaos of Lvcifyre and Death Like Mass on strings.

The decision to scale the band from a quintet to a trio is, as stated before, the band’s most radical change since the departure of Sabathan, but more importantly, this approach also managed to change the dynamic entirely. The most noticeable change in Ashspawn is how this is Nornagest’s most vicious and relentless vocal performance; his vocal performance has always been a point of contention for many. For the most part, his approach was very monastic and ritualistic. That approach has been fully realized in this record; not only does he sound absolutely demented and savage, switching between high shrieks and deep gutturals as well as monk-like proclamations, but as a whole, the vocals have a noteworthy impact in each song as Nornagest adeptly performed according to what the songs need.

On the instrumental side, both T. Kaos and Menthor deliver intense and unrelenting performances to match Nornagest’s vocals. T. Kaos in particular delivers excellent riffs and soloing, which are elements that weren’t prominent in previous records, and of course, Menthor is still a beast on the drum kit, and his major achievement is being able to readapt his drumming to the T. Kaos’ riffs while maintaining his trademark speed.

The production on this record is also excellent, while the vocals do get the most space, the rest of the instruments all sound balanced and well mixed, and Nornagest’s sample work to create ritualistic ambiance and ominous soundscapes work very well with T. Kaos’ very metallic songwriting. As a whole, my only issue is how the overexposed vocals can get a bit overwhelming, and this will definitely be a major turnoff for other listeners, but because Nornagest performs in such top form, it is worth investing in, even if the loudness of his voice (in a production sense) can be a somewhat fatiguing experience.

Overall, while I’ve never disliked Enthroned’s latter period, it could get a bit monotonous at times, so this record feels like a breath of fresh air where a veteran band finds that spark of rejuvenation to keep going strong after three decades.

Rating: 9 out of 10