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For many years Enthroned were one of my favorite Black Metal bands. Not necessarily a good band, but a favorite. With the release of the great Carnage in Worlds Beyond in 2002 they proved that they could, in fact, be a great band, but each release thereafter was like another step down from that peak, and with the departure of sole remaining original member Lord Sabathan in 2006 and the remarkably boring Tetra Karcist the following year, it was plain that Enthroned had lost whatever remaining will to conquer they had once possessed. This was a band always more notable for their enthusiasm than their talent, and I was pretty sure we would get nothing any good from them again.

Imagine my surprise then at being confronted with the blistering aggression of Pentagrammaton, which may not see them reaching Carnage-level heights of fury, but at least this sounds like a fucking Enthroned album. You get blazing speed, aggression, and some pretty damned good riffs and songs along the way. "The Vitalized Shell" kicks up with some solid riffs and a lot of energy, and none of the songs that follow really drop the ball in terms of keeping the quality up. "Ornament of Grace" kicks serious ass, as does "Nehas't". The title track is a bit overlong and pretentious, and I have to say one big beef I have with this album is how often Nornagest buries his vocals in effects and multi-tracks his voice – I hate when singers do this, and I blame Nergal for how often it gets overused in extreme metal.

This isn't anything I didn't expect from Enthroned except quality, as this is the best album they have managed in over half a decade. I was one of those who thought the departure of Sabathan meant the slow death of this band, but Enthroned are not quite dead yet.