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Hecate Enthroned > Miasma > Reviews
Hecate Enthroned - Miasma

Melodic Storm - 89%

Enigma666, February 17th, 2005

This is a smooth little Ep from British black metallers Hecate Enthroned, arguable an underrated force in the black metal scene, people often label them as Cradle of Filth mkII, though this is clearly untrue as they are far superior to Cradle of Filth and are definitely black metal.
This particular Ep is quite experimental, but in a good way and was my introduction to Hecate Enthroned (I now own all their releases except Redimus

So Called Saviour- kicking off with some nice drumwork and a nice little riff which repeat several times before breaking into the first verse, which features spoken word vocals, but they fit well, then the chorus kicks in, with a nice minor-key riff and whispered-screams ala Ihsahn, the song then enters a second verse, once again with spoken vocals, the riff behind is epic, but not really above average, we don’t get the stole NWOBHM riffs COF are famous for either, then the bridge begins, each line whispered before the clean vocals repeat it, the music behind is barely audible, but a blast of bass can be heard at one point, with synth running throughout, the track then ends with “silent” been whispered over and over as the drums pick up pace and a haunting acoustic passage flows for a few seconds, followed by a synthetic heart beat

New Day Emerges-
What sounds like a gothic metal style church organ helps begin this track, featuring clean vocals, sung this time and average, but not great gothic/melodic black riffs, the next vocal passage contains a bit to many effects, before breaking into heavier more black metal music, with vox and heavier riffs and drum work. It then slows down again with more light synth and guitar followed by a guttural roar, the drums the echo throughout as the spoken vocals return before breaking into another scream, almost like Dani Filths except better executed, and as members of Hecate were in COF during their better times they presumable picked it up there.

Commence the Chaos-
A short, but very atmospheric instrumental, throwing you wholesale into one of Englands ancient forests at night, light synth work, with natural sounds such as water and agonising screams add to this effect, a reasonable track, but probably just filler

Designed with hate

This song is more fast paced than those proceeding it, and starts with a more orthodox than previously, the drumming is average and the riffs are the same as you would expect from Hecate, melodic black with tinges of black, there is some whispering later on, but the pace remains undeterred, there is significant NWOBHM influence here,. But it is gone without ripping off Iron maiden- take notes COF. The clean vocals return towards the end followed by drum beats and deep screaming before breaking into a highly gothic tinged riff.

Silenced but for their cries (I am born, part II)

The drumming and guitar work begin this piece well, and a short vocal passage ensues before the entire song breaks into a much faster far more melodic affair, which is haunting in its effect, the riff is frantic and epic, the drumming fast and keeping pace well, the vocals are dani filth based, but are done with a more black metal edge to them, making them appear much better, the song then slows down with some dramatic synth work followed by a nice dose of epic riff and deep-vox.

After this silence ensues for a few minutes (even though the “hidden track”, buried alive, the Venom cover is mentioned on the track listing on the back cover, when it begins however the intro present on the original is missing, that’s a blessing, as that drags on for too long, however, the song is performed excellently and more than does the original justice, except it is modernised and more suitable reflective of the modern black metal scene than the original, which was the forefather of the modern black metal scene.

In summary, I highly recommend this Ep as a starting point for those of you who want to dispel the “cradle of filth mkII rumours”, fans of Theatres des vampires, dimmu borgir and perhaps even Enthroned should take note, and for cradle of filth fans looking to explore black metal, this is a good starting point for you.