Hecate Enthroned
Dark Requiems… and Unsilent Massacres
[Blackened]


This is clearly a Cradle of Filth rip-off band and by far the most blatant and shameless one yet… These guys copied just about EVERYTHING from Cradle of Filth, from the ridiculously weak and ultra-high pitched vocals (what some people have called ‘angry elf screams’) to the wholly synth-saturated and pointless music. Anybody who hates C.O.F. (as I do) will also absolutely despise this CD as well, as the ONLY thing that these guys didn’t copy from C.O.F. was their ‘Vampire’ theme; Hecate Enthroned are more Satanic inclined (giving the one with horns a bad name, their heads should be brought as an offering to him) in their lyrics and imagery, and that’s the one and only difference. The music here is synth-based and symphonic Black Metal, and while the music itself definitely isn’t entirely bad, it does project a dark atmosphere sometimes, and there are even some moments when a certain riff strikes you as interesting… all the unnecessary synth use and the squeaky, ultra-high pitched vocals got extremely annoying after a very short while. The guitars often sound like a mere supporting instrument for the steady stream of vox and/or synths, and the drums are boring. In addition to that, the packaging, band photos, and lyrics are done in such a hilariously pathetic fashion… the cover art looks like a gray blob, the band members look utterly ridiculous and gay in their fringed and puffy white shirts, and the lyrics try REALLY hard to be sophisticated and fall flat on their face, the title of this CD alone is evidence enough to prove THAT claim…. ; ] .

It’s sad really, how a band can’t find a style of it’s own and has to end up ripping-off other bands (and shitty ones at that!), Hecate Enthroned deserve to be thoroughly tormented for their obvious capitalist-pig behavior… completely ripping off a popular band just to make a buck, the dollar is obviously their only god… sickening.

Pros – Some (rare) interesting riffs, pretty good production
Cons - Poor vox, synth overdose, usually boring guitars, poor packaging, ridiculous lyrics
Style of Music – It’s an obvious Cradle of Filth rip-off, so the music they play could easily be described as Gothic/Mainstream/Black Metal… Just as C.O.F. are…Hah!
Will likely appeal to – People who want some laughs can look at this CD as a comedy, it could be quite funny. I, however, do not like to look at Black Metal as something that would make people laugh, if you know what I mean...

Overall –… Horrible – 3/10


© 2000 sauron anarazel