Review by Joshua on July 11, 2005.

It’s rare that fast black metal keeps my attention without doing anything extraordinarily adventuresome. For some reason, though, Enthroned always interested me. Xes Haereticum is consistent with everything they’ve released since Prophecies of Pagan Fire: Fast, well-structured, orthodox black metal, in the same category as Marduk, Absu, and perhaps Immortal. The bad news is that Enthroned have made almost no musical progress. The good news is that they’ve honed their already formidable skills to create a solidly entertaining album with no disappointments.

In fact, Xes Haereticum has much to offer. Listen carefully and you’ll hear a thrash metal undercurrent reminiscent of the old Kreator albums. You’ll probably notice a 1980s influence in their guitar solos, similarly — no surprise, from a band whose members list Motorhead and Destruction among their personal favorites.

Here’s a quick catalogue of album features that other genre-specific examples miss: Good production, no keyboards, no tone-deaf “Viking” singing. That’s three gold stars for Enthroned. This disc’s production is excellent, with every instrument discernible, though the drums occasionally sound distorted. Considering that Sabathan’s guitar wizardry could give the late 80s shredders a run for their money, that much is absolutely necessary. Furthermore, singing is sporadic and always on key. Best of all, their experimentation never detracts from the memorability of individual songs. In short, there is nothing wrong with this disc.

So, why isn’t it achieving perfect ratings? Why not give this album solid 10’s, then?

That’s simple: One hallmark of a band’s greatness is their distinguishability, and Enthroned still aren’t there. Despite being brilliant musicians, and despite making consistently excellent albums, these Belgians do almost nothing to distance themselves from an anonymous legion of genre soundalikes. Almost like black metal’s answer to Iron Maiden, any song from any album fits on any other album. That detracts not just from their originality, but from perceptions of their musicianship, atmosphere, and overall listenability.

Therefore, to whatever degree one could call black metal orthodox, Enthroned are masters of writing orthodox black metal. Drawing from a wide variety of influences, they’ve produced an entertaining, powerful, excellent album. It has everything black metal needs, and there’s nothing misplaced or superfluous. All one could ask is that they’d do something that would distinguish them from the metal hordes of Scandinavia.

Categorical Rating Breakdown
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality: 5
Overall: 9

Review by Brian on June 5, 2016.

It's dark and foggy, there's a feeling that you are somewhere you know, but everything is unfamiliar. There's a presence that you feel in the shadows, you can't see it but you know it's there. You're alone, lost and cold and something ominous is preying on you. You realize you're asleep and this is a nightmare.

Terra Tenebrosa has bringing nightmares to life since the release of their debut LP The Tunnels in 2011. Formed from the ashes of the post hardcore band Breach, founding member and braintrust, The Cuckoo, wanted to explore the darker regions of music. At this he has succeeded. From the first notes of the first album I knew I was listening to something original. I also realized I was listening to truly terrifying music. I must make it a point that there are very few bands or albums that I consider to be truly scary. Skinny Puppy achieved this with their pinnacle album Too Dark Park, Bethlehem did this with their first 3 albums, S.U.I.Z.I.D. in particular and Portal has also conjured this feeling over their career. However, they all pale in comparison to what Terra Tenebrosa has been able to do over 2 full-length's and an EP.

Their 3rd full-length The Reverses sees the band release their first album for new label Debemur Morti Productions. A partnership that seems to be equally great for both parties. Debemur Morti re-issued the bands first 2 LPs with a slight update to the cover art, as a precursor to this release. Giving this band the attention they deserve with good promotion of the new album.

The first thing I noticed is how big the production is. This does wonders for the Terra Tenebrosa sound, giving clarity to each individual layer of the chaos. After the first track "Makoria", which serves as an intro, "Ghost at the End of the Rope" storms out of the gate as the sound level increases by 50% from the opening track. The second thing I noticed that's different with The Reverses over previous efforts, is that the songs are more structured like a traditional song. This is evident in the albums first stand out track "The End is Mine to Ride". It's thunderous rhythm section provides the trademark noisy side of the band while giving way just enough for the dissonant guitars to stand out clearly among hazy, foggy background. this is a constant theme throughout The Reverses.

The second stand out track and my personal favorite is "Where Shadows Have Teeth". Featuring guest appearances from Alex Stjernfeldt (The Moth Gatherer) on bass and MkM (Antaeus, Aosoth) lending his voice to the final verse and refrain. It's suffocating nature brings about panic in the listener and if you're looking for relief, it's not coming. This song with crush you under the pure weight of it's heaviness. When it does relent, it leaves you in a far more terrifying place than where you were and transitions into the albums creepiest track "Exuvia". This is pure horrowshow. An eerie melody with demonic whispers. this could be the soundtrack for a horror film.

Album closer, the epic, almost 17 minute "Fire Dances" featuring a guest vocal appearance from Vindsval (Blut aus Nord). Which is probably the closest band I could use as a comparison. However I don't think would be fair to either band. This is also the most black metal song on the album. It's starts out blazing then transitions into this fine piece of ambience, very reminiscent of the above mentioned band and closes with a doom riff for the ages.

Terra Tenebrosa have created a dark nightmarish beauty. Everything is more focused, the ideas are more complete, the songwriting is better and the songs are tighter. All this is done without sacrificing an ounce of atmosphere. The songs are just as terrifying and weird as ever. However they are easier to digest. The Reverses is giant step forward for the band, now let's hope they get the recognition they so rightly deserve.