Video by Universe Global Entertainment
With “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon,” their first record in five years, proving to be one of the best-reviewed extreme metal releases of the year to date, the UK-based symphonic blackened death metal group HECATE ENTHRONED have unveiled a lyric video for the album track “Erebus and Terror,” which features guest vocals by Sarah Jezebel Deva (Cradle of Filth, Therion, Mortiis).
While “Embrace...” proves definitively that HECATE ENTHRONED is still as brutal and scornful as ever, the album also shows occasional hints of gothic and ambient influences, and “Erebus and Terror” is a prime example. Says bassist Dylan Hughes, “On an album full of epic tracks, 'Erebus and Terror' still stands out as a monster. Massive and powerful, it creeps between eerie dark chills and huge powerhouse sections that utilize the full armory of soaring orchestras and crushing guitars to deliver a skillfully-crafted song. With the incredible vocal talents of Sarah Jezebel Deva, this track is lifted to another level of emotion and feeling, as she delivered a performance that matches the intensity of the music. To have Sarah with us gives our music and writing another dimension – a real organic element that can lift or carry a song through the emotion ranges.”
Adds vocalist Joe Stamps, “'Erebus and Terrror' is about the ill-fated Franklin Expedition, in which the sailors who were stranded in the Northwest Passage were reported to have begun to cannibalize one another. The lyrics describe a loss of humanity through sickness and desperation and even compares these to lycanthropy – men becoming beasts.”
“Embrace Of The Godless Aeon” – which features cover artwork by Nestor Avalos (Bloodbath, Rotting Christ, The Black Dahlia Murder), as seen above – is out now on CD, digital and red splatter vinyl. A limited-edition deluxe box set that features exclusive purple vinyl and cassette editions of the album, a signed photo card, stickers, patches and other collectibles is also available at this location.
One of the UK underground's longest-running and most respected acts, HECATE ENTHRONED has been praised by the likes of Terrorizer for their “mixture of death metal aggression with black metal atmosphere.” “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon” – their first recording with Stamps, who joined the band in 2015 – sees the group continue to deftly mix black with death, modern with classic and extreme with symphonic. The album was co-produced by Dan Abela (Voices, The Antichrist Imperium, Tristania).
Originally co-founded in Wales by guitarist Nigel Dennen in the mid-1990s, HECATE ENTHRONED is dedicated to delivering their own brand of evil metal with little regard to politics or the trends of popular demand. The group's 1997 full-length debut, the Andy Sneap-produced “The Slaughter Of Innocence, A Requiem For The Mighty” (Blackend Records), was a seminal release in the then-burgeoning orchestral black metal movement. Since then, several albums and EPs and numerous live performances have firmly established the band as one of extreme metal's most important voices, a sentiment that “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon” firmly reinforces.
HECATE ENTHRONED's next live performance will take place on April 20 at the Veneration Of The Dead festival in Rotterdam, Holland.
Select praise for “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon”:
“A fantastic return to form” – Metal Archives
“A very strong comeback... an album that will definitely turn heads due to its quality and diversity.” – Infernal Masquerade
“One of their strongest albums to date... highly recommended.” – Blessed Altar
“A veritable symphony of destruction... a fine display of orchestral black metal.” – Musipedia of Metal
“Old-school Cradle of Filth mixed with old-school Emperor and some special touch that makes this album something unique” – MetalBite
“Like an apocalyptic symphony raging straight out of Hell... For a band that’s been going at in for two and a half decades, they’ve certainly pulled of the very impressive feat of keeping their craft still sounding fresh and relevant, unlike a good number of their peers.” – Via Omega
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