One of the intriguing things about black metal is its continual evolution, with many “black metal” bands now being completely unrecognisable from the genre’s (and indeed their own) roots having gone down countless other paths such as symphonic, atmospheric, ambient, industrial, sci-fi (!) and so on. However, there are others who have stayed true to the genre’s roots with blastbeats, harsh vocals, scathing riffs and solos remaining central to all they do.

Belgium’s Coldborn have achieved a fine balance of the two with their sound being firmly rooted in black metal from the early nineties but also incorporating a more modern sound. Coldborn might not be familiar to all Ave Noctum readers, so by way of an introduction, Coldborn is the solo project of Norgaath, who may be better known for his role with Enthroned, as well as Nightbringer and Grimfaug. The debut album ‘Lingering Voidwards’ was released back in 2016 to critical acclaim in the underground and since then the band (Nargaath is joined by four others when playing live) have played with big name bands such as Watain, Satyricon, Taake, Djevel, Kampfar and Tulus amongst others.

Coming eight years after the debut (I guess Covid and other band commitments contributed to this), we now have the sophomore album ‘The Unwritten Pages of Death’ and it has been worth the wait. As I mentioned earlier, large swathes of the album could be from the early 90s wave of black metal with a cold, malevolent feel to the rasping vocals and battering percussion, but there are also subtle synths, perhaps bringing a hint of early Dimmu Borgir on tracks such as ‘Harps of Death Chiming Reverberant’ and ‘Cornucopia Hungers for More’. However, this is not the whole tale. A crystal clear mix brings a more contemporary feel to things, while frequent changes in pace and the incorporation of atmospheric, melodic passages stop the album becoming one dimensional. At times, it also slows down bordering on doom metal, before reverting to the more familiar black metal onslaught. This all works really well giving an album that is clearly black metal at its core but with plenty of diversity making it entirely relevant in 2024. Well worth a listen and I suspect we will be hearing a seeing a lot more from Coldborn in the next few years.

(8.5/10 Andy Pountney)

https://www.facebook.com/Coldborn

https://coldborn.bandcamp.com/album/the-unwritten-pages-of-death