This aside, Dantalion do not run the risk of being saddled with the 'original' label; this Nordic inspired, post-_Pure Holocaust_ nastiness has been done innumerable times, by bands as disparate as Canada's Frozen Shadows and Iran's Sorg Innkallelse. But few bands have been able to combine blistering aggression with brooding atmosphere as well as this group, and this is sufficient to elevate them beyond a mediocre also-ran.

The use of cleanly picked arpeggios initially adds to the chilling mood, but their frequency, emerging at least once on each song, dilutes their efficacy. Although it may initially seem repetitive, a few close listens reveal this to be an erroneous perception.

Rarely venturing beyond the Land of One Idea, they try damn hard to make that sole idea work to its fullest potential, resulting in an admirable entrant to the underbelly of paganized black metal.