CoC : Enthroned - Gothic Disturbance : Review

Enthroned - _Gothic Disturbance_
by: Brian Meloon (4 out of 5)

Not to be confused with the Belgian black metallers (see CoC #9), these guys (see CoC #1, #2, #7) are from California, and play a technical style of death metal, with some gothic stylings similar to those of Cradle of Filth. The music often reminds me of Nocturnus, as the songs have an underlying sci-fi feeling and are very technical, but is even more chaotic. Unfortunately, they don't quite have the necessary musical prowess to pull it off flawlessly, as they occasionally sound sloppy. There are a few places where they are noticeably off, and this really takes away from the mechanistic/cyborg feeling. The guitar solos could use some work too, as they have that pick-fast-to-sound-like-you're-playing-fast (e.g. Slayer) sound. The production is good, but a little raw, and the packaging is extremely spartan: just a piece of paper with the band's logo and the song titles; no 'glossy paper' here. The vocals are pretty standard raspy death metal style, with little variation, but they don't sing very often, as there are long instrumental passages which usually include many style and/or tempo and time changes. The instrumental "Toccata in Death Minor" (not to be confused with the Great Kat's "Toccata in Blood Minor"), despite its cheesy name and choppy songwriting is especially good. It's good to see that someone is reviving the technical sci-fi death metal idiom, and this is an impressive enough offering that someone ought to snatch these guys up and sign them, even though they're not playing the flavor du jour (i.e. black metal).

Contact: Enthroned, c/o John Oster, 909 Alvarado Ave #22

(article published 7/6/1997)

ALBUMS
10/3/2007	Q Kalis	5.5	Enthroned - Tetra Karcist
12/13/2004	J Smit	6	Enthroned - Xes Haereticum
7/7/1999	P Schwarz	7	Enthroned - The Apocalypse Manifesto
11/19/1998	B Meloon	9	Enthroned - Gothic Disturbance '98
6/7/1998	A Wasylyk	3	Enthroned - Regie Sathanas
4/18/1996	S Hoeltzel	8	Enthroned - Prophecies of Pagan Fire
1/17/1996	G Filicetti	8	Enthroned - Thy Flesh Consumed

DEMOS
8/12/1995	G Filicetti		Enthroned - Absence of Life

GIGS
1/15/2000	P Azevedo	Marduk / Angelcorpse / Enthroned	Night of the Living Corpses