Style: keyboard driven black metal
Thoughts: One can't mention Hecate Enthroned's early works without also bringing up Cradle of Filth in the same breath. There are so many stories out there on who started this vocal style first. More than one account shows that Jon taught Danni how to do it and Danni is the one that ended up making it popular. Regardless of who ended up creating it first, the vocal performance by Jon on Hecate Enthroned's debut EP fits the music perfectly.
Honestly the vocals are really the point where the comparisons to Cradle stop. The guitar work here is quite different. These riffs focus more on full guitar chords played at fast speeds with keyboards often taking the lead role away from anything the guitars would do. The interplay between the two is much more defined than the dance they do in Cradle's early albums.
While the song writing is indeed done in a linear style, the music takes on quite a different atmosphere and style than that of Cradle. Actually, I'm being unfair to Hecate here, this entire entry I've been comparing them to the shadow of Cradle of Filth. This band is their own entity. There are some indisputable similarities between the two but Hecate Enthroned deserves their own spotlight because this is damn good music.
Hecate's debut album is essentially their demo with better production. It has the same track list and not much has changed in terms of the tracks or song writing. What this means though is we get a well defined and well rehearsed collection of songs. These songs have excellent riffs, powerful vocals and a keyboard presence that is a perfect representation of what mid 90's black metal is all about.
Upon Promethean Shores is a fine start for the band, the band has made a clear and powerful statement with this debut. They are here to write good music that helped put the UK black metal scene on the international stage. For those uninitiated, this is a great place to start with this band.
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