It's been 8 years since the last full-length album from Enthral (not counting the 2010 mini-album Spiteful Dirges), but Obtenebrate will prove to be more than worth the wait. Joining core members Gunnhild Bratset (guitar)and Kjetil Hektoen (drums, vocals) on bass is Kai Åsvik (Whip, Virus live), and the trio have created a black monument of an album that should appear on many a Best of 2012-poll come the end of the year. Obtenebrate is like a malign force, crushing you in its wake. Clocking in at nearly 70 minutes, yet feeling like 45 it is as technically adept, imaginative and diverse as it is brutal, intense and dark. Death, black or dark metal - Enthral encompass these and more. Having subsisted in the Norwegian black metal underground since 1995, yet never really getting past the "critics favourite" mark, it is about time people take notice of Enthral. Judging by this album anything else seems downright unlikely.
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