Black Crown - Caverns of Thantifaxath (2020)
USA
Sathanath Records
Black Crown is the sinister manifestation conjured by The Mountain VVitch (ex-Necrophagia, Haxxan) and "Caverns of Thantifaxath" is their debut album, joint-released between Satanath Records, More Hate Productions, and The End Of Time Records. The duo offers a lethal slab of cold, belligerent black metal that aims to corrupt the mind with a corrosive atmosphere and vocals replete with spite. The themes all pertain to the occult, as Thantifaxath literally means “Great Ghoul” and is known to be one of the pathways and tunnels of Set. The band does a good job at transmitting those abysmal energies; however, I feel that a rawer sound would have benefited the music more, as I find the album's production a little too clean and polished for my liking. Nevertheless, there's still some enjoyable moments to be found here, with an atmosphere and sound that brings to mind bands like Thorns, Temple of The Maggot, Carpathian Forest, etc. The pace of the album varies from mid to fast, with some exceedingly heavy riffs scattered throughout. I'm not a big fan of the high-pitched vocals, although I can tolerate them. Overall, "Caverns of Thantifaxath" is a passable entry featuring 9 paeans of blasphemous metal to satiate the morbid mind. (HT)