Black Sun - Sacred Eternal Eclipse

This is surprisingly and strangely mellow screaming death metal from Glasgow based Black Sun. Or maybe it's not quite 'death' metal, maybe just 'serious injury' metal. Sacred Eternal Eclipse isn't exactly a light listening album, but it is intelligent music, escaping the pitfalls of over-eager thrashing which alienate so many. It sounds like the rolling approach of a threatening dark night in an empty desert. All very dramatic, and with its religious imagery the CD promises nothing less. Quite slow and teasing, the tracks don't differentiate from each other hugely. But it's appealing, and worth another listen, though I don't know why. It just is. Malicious, anguished and doom laden, it is calming in a disturbingly satisfying way. [Fraser Cardow]