History
Spawn in 1998, the trio of singer and drummer Impaler, guitarist
Necrotormentor and bassist/keyboardist Lord Acheron issued the
Dethroned
promo tape in September of that same year. The same line-up issued the
Reign Of Terror demo CD in March of 1999. The next demo-CD came in
March
of 2000 and was named Cremation Odes. A few shows later, the band which
now featured Drakhon on vocals and Draenzarth on bass, recorded the
Nocternity Enshadowed demo.
Signing to Greece's Black Lotus Records, the line-up dropped
'Nocternity' from its moniker and recorded its debut album in the
autumn
of 2001. Soon after, three of the members jumped ship leaving main song
writer Necrotormentor as the sole member. The line-up then featured
Snegodron on vocals, Burial Horde's Psychaos on rhythm guitar and
V.Lastnemesis on drums.
Diastropheus was soon added and with Necrotormentor now going by the
shortened Necro alias, the gang entered Wave Studio in order to record
a
new album. The result appeared in the spring of 2003 and was called
Intensity.
Reviews
ENSHADOWED - MESSENGERS OF THE DARKEST DAWN - BLACK LOTUS
Given the band's origin it is easy to be dismissive of this album.
Consequently during my first listen 'attention' was not the correct
description for my state-of-mind. Enshadowed (formerly Nocternity
Enshadowed) deserves better than that. Greek they might be, yet they
eschew
most Rotting Christ, Varathron, etc. influences in favour of a better
and
stronger sound. In fact, Enshadowed mixes Swedish and Norwegian (albeit
without the trendy keyboards) black metal to good effect. Malicious
vocals,
rich rhythms and much blasting intermingle to constitute a deep black
album.
Breaks, rhythm changes and sinister atmosphere arrive aplenty as these
messengers deliver their dark hate. Listen to the middle of the song
Northbound for instance where the string overdubs is pure Dissection.
Of
course the song's title itself says much. A muffled drum sound and weak
bass
presence are tempered by a good over-all sound and a better lyrical and
jacket presentation and manage to cap off an impressively malignant
debut.
"From your worst darkened dreams, From your deepest pains, I'm coming
out,
Your poor souls to lacerate."
ENSHADOWED - INTENSITY - BLACK LOTUS
Greek band Enshadowed is back and not about to tell a lie. When the band names its album Intensity, it really means it. Intensity is a brutal affair that hits hard despite its relatively short length - considering the intro and outro. Let us back up a little however.
Intensity could have turned out differently and there would hardly have been a cause for surprise. After all, the band's line-up has undergone an almost complete overhaul leaving only guitarist Necrotormentor (now just Necro) standing. The four new members are not about to disappoint either. That, in itself, is important because Intensity's predecessor Messengers Of The Darkest Dawn was an Album Of The Month with the knights here at Metallian Towers. Having said that, the new line-up takes the band away from its Dissection/Darkthrone leanings into more of a Sinister/God Dethroned direction. Not only the riffs have become beefier, but also the vocals are now split evenly between screams and growls. Most importantly, the band's quality is intact. Perhaps track seven, Requiem Of Hatred (Jesus Christ Cage Part II), bears a resemblance to the band's earlier material with its Scandinavian influences and instrumental keyboard interlude, but the rest of the album is a mix of the aforementioned styles. Either way, Intensity is recommended to all fans of the more extreme end of metal. This is again a surprisingly strong effort from a band whose country of origin does not usually demand praise. - Ali "The Metallian"
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