Review by JD on April 20, 2012.

In some circles of metal, Christian Metal/Rock is not looked upon well and seen like a joke or some laughable parody of real music, but Christian based Rock and Metal, like our Black Metal brethren have intense passion for their message. Prophet Azal "Elijah Returns" is a concept album built around the strong religious beliefs of a slide Blues guitar master known as Gypsy.

Asked by God to spread the word of the coming end of the world, Native musician Azal spreads the word that had been given to him- that is the basic concept of the album, as Gypsy and his friends use a combination of Led Zeppelin/Molly Hatchet and old school Blues based Metal/Hard Rock to spread his faith. What you have here is straight ahead old school ballsy metal with a direct message. Whether you believe or not in the religuous leanings of this band you have to give credit to the band.

Through eleven songs, the concept Gypsy and company are creating is firmly front and center. These are unbending Christian based songs, but sadly it is the music is not that good to hold up the message. With repetitive melodies and a horribly recorded album, it reduces the impact that the artist wanted from it by over half. Song structures seemed almost ridiculously patched together, even though Gypsy seemed to be a great musician - seemed stiff and nothing flowed like it should have.

This could have been a really good album, but because of the problems with the recording values not to mention the stiffly and very cheezy made songs themselves - makes it seem almost amateurish and very uninspired. I read that Gypsy is better known as a slid blues player than a rocker - perhaps his message would be better suited to use that, than the old school Hard Rock/Metal. I commend him for trying to do something different, but urge him to go back to his bread-and-butter blues and let rockers play what they do best... this was not good.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 4
Production: 4
Originality: 4
Overall: 4.5

Rating: 4.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 20, 2019.

Sooner or later, all things come to a more or less natural end. Only the scourge of humanity, also known as Sabaton, releases shitty music endlessly, but that's not the issue here. I am speaking of Lord Sabathan - don't be fooled by the similar names, there exists a gargantuan difference between Sabaton and Sabathan - who left Enthroned before the recordings for Tetra Karcist began. Without any member of the original line-up, the remaining musicians decided to go on under the well-known banner. Slightly questionable, nevertheless, a good idea, because Tetra Karcist shows that there was still a solid black metal fundament. An institution like Enthroned does not stand or fall with the involvement of a single person, even it has been an important one for the evolution of the band.

The new lead vocalist, Nornagest is his pseudonym, is a worthy successor of the Lord. His throaty, hoarse and robust performance does not modify the sound of the Belgian squadron in a remarkable manner. The musical approach also remains more or less the same. Devastating black metal is on the agenda, sometimes a little bit mechanical, but mostly boasting with sinister emotions. The relentlessly hammering drums that shape the fastest parts of the album leave not much room for great feelings, but the slower sections take the listener into a dark cosmos of morbid grandeur. This is not to say that the mid-paced tunes are always better than the cruel eruptions of velocity. But the first track that keeps sticking in my mind is, despite some blast beats-like drum figures, a rather slow, almost bombastic yet very evil piece. "Vermin" has a lot of different facets and some of its sequences appear as a (very strong and expressive) leftover of "Seven Plagues, Seven Wraths", the epic anthem from "Xes Haereticum". Especially its second half shines with an unholy atmosphere and a very sharp-edged guitars dances upon dark layers of metallic heaviness. 

The music of Enthroned reflects a certain depth, a specific spirituality. Call it philosophy, ideology or Satanism, it does not matter. What really counts is that nearly each and every album of this band is convincing. Black metal is not just their hobby, there seems to be a strong inner relationship between the musicians and their art. They are even able to infiltrate other people with their weltanschauung. Sorry, but I love to integrate a German word from time to time - and this applies all the more in view of the fact that the album was recorded by Harris Johns, the old German legend who was already responsible for great Teutonic thrash outputs during the golden eighties. But now he seems to be infected with the black virus of Enthroned, because Tetra Karcist marks already the third full-length with a contribution from his side. Anyhow, the here reviewed work does not score with an outstanding mix, but its dense, powerful and vicious sound also gives definitely no reason to moan. Only "The Burning Dawn" surprises with a crude, dull sound effect. However, the sonic carnage does not suffer from a feeble technical execution, that's for sure.

Admittedly, I do not find songs that push the record from good to absolutely brilliant. Furthermore, I can understand that some people might say the album delivers just more of the same. But Enthroned have found their place, their supporters love them for what they are doing and therefore I see no reason for them to" "take the next step" (which mostly leads directly into the abyss). And the songs are good, no more, no less. "Psalm II: I Reign Over You" bundles the strengths of the band for the last time while attacking with thundering drums, mean guitar leads and frightening vocals. This is black metal. Maybe the jesters of Sabaton are able to piss in various colours (I do not intend to check it) and from this point of view, they are more competent than any worshipper of pure blackness. But they fail to write good songs. By contrast, Lord Sabathan has released a couple of breathtaking pieces with his new black metal combat unit called Slaughter Messiah. Well, as mentioned earlier, please notice the gargantuan difference. And don't forget to lend an ear to Tetra Karcist.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10