Band: SHROUD OF SATAN
Country: Germany
Title: Of Evil Descent
Label: Sol Records
Year: 2018
Style: Black Metal

Review:
There are a few names from the new German Black Metal wave that like to keep things as traditional as possible, and plenty of them are doing a fantastic job not only preserving but also enriching the genre. Shroud of Satan ws a new name to my ears, but they seem to be a proud part of this new wave of classic Black Metal in Germany, their music following all patterns of the second wave (or better said the '90's decade) of Black Metal and playing it with such convinction and devotion that they immediately manage to make you believe they are 100% honest about this. This one is actually their second studio album, released 3 years after their debut was, on the same Sol Records, yet the 6 tracks featured here were composed and recorded between 2012 and 2017, so I don't know how representative they still are for what is Shroud of Satan at the moment. Seemingly the band has kept the same line-up along the years, the same powerhouse trio that keeps things busy now, too, so that's undoubtedly a major influence on how curdled and well harmonized things are in their music. Although I was expecting a rather rough, primitive approach on this music, Shroud of Satan offer us a more majestic, atmospheric at times Black Metal; it is, indeed, a fast paced, extremely abrasive and offensive music, but at times the keyboard inserts in the background (and not only) offer a mystical, atmospheric escape from all this pummeling and that ends up blending perfectly in the whole that makes Shroud of Satan's music. The only thing I don't like are the primitive drums, Punk influenced rhythmed, on a couple of tracks, but overall they do a good job supporting the steady intensive atmosphere. All in all I like this album a lot, and not only the music on it, I also like the band image, the lyrics on it and the cover art used, a material I recommend for sure!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10

Contact:
shroudofsatan.de
solrecords.de