Apart from Ancient Rites (who they appeared on a split with early in both their careers), Enthroned is probably the most well-known band from Belgium, and this, their seventh full-length, establishes them as black metal veterans. One could reasonably anticipate a certain level of skill, but one could just as easily be presented with a bunch of nightclad denizens going heartlessly through the motions; and sadly the latter appears to be the case._Tetra Karcist_ is fast, ferocious and grim, but so what? That applies to 90% of the black metal on my shelf, much of which is better played and more exciting. The riffs are closely packed together, with some catchy rhythms, rounded with a crisp production thata gives it an extra bite and a couple of decent leads that act as an efficient tension breaker -- but this is hardly sufficient to rescue it from the doldrums.
If this were a debut, I would be more forgiving, but as one of the few black metal bands in a position to release their seventh full-length without mutating into something far removed from the genre, I expect and demand something substantially more than by-the-numbers black metal.