The second full-length from Chilean black/thrashers Invocation Spells, Descendent the Black Throne comes off as a solid release for a band offering a second album so soon after their debut. It manages to get some enjoyable elements featured within here with the old-school tone mixed alongside blazing thrash rhythms.
For the most part here, this one is simply based on blazing old-school black metal with a raw edge here that makes the band sound that much more darker and primitive than expected. Firing off volleys of impressive tremolo-picked patterns that pack that brimstone-scented touch so heavily present in the Norwegian scene, this here is mixed with a generous dollop of South American primeval-sounding production that helps add to the general air of dirty old-school flair here which ends up making this one so much fun throughout here. With this old-school style played nicely alongside thrashing patterns with that kind of up-tempo pace from the thrash rhythms, there’s a whole lot to really enjoy here as there’s some stand-out tracks in opener The Betrayal of Bastard, Occult makes the best of their shorter punk-influenced efforts and the title track features some incendiary riffing.. While there’s some good here in keeping the tracks short with that punk-ish attitude with their compactness, it does lower the second half somewhat as the simplicity sticks out somewhat from the first half and making the album come off a little unevenly here with Under Shadows of Pentagram and Revenge of the Serpents being a little lower quality of the first half, but that’s of minor consequence.
Though there’s some rather enjoyable fun to be had from their old-school black metal styled thrash that comes off nicely, the weaker sections here do stick out enough to make this seem a little more likely for those only interested in this kind of ravenous South American style of extreme metal or those looking for some new form of black/thrash metal. 8/10
