ENTHRONED
Ashspawn
CRACKER FARM/PRESS
SEASON OF MIST
Belgium’s occult-steeped black metallers fill their Gilles
Belgium’s greatest black metal contributors have managed to modernise their sound while staying connected to the subgenre’s traditional approach. They’ve evolved from more broadly pagan leanings into a more austere form of occultism that can hang with the likes of Funeral Mist and Watain, and Ashspawn’s tumultuous blasting barrages fit the bill too. Cheekily “written in close collaboration with occult author Gilles de Laval”, Basilisk Triumphant sees vocalist Nornagest foaming tyrannically atop riffs that recall the claustrophobia of Blasphemer-era Mayhem’s work. As Raviasamin drops in choirs of Hell, it’s another impressively diabolical outing for stalwarts of more than 30 years. ■■■■■■■■■■