Ravenbolt (USA) – Black Banner of War CD

Black Metal

Triumphant, melodic, raw black metal that breathes new vibrance to the genre, with Black Banner Of War, Forest Sentinel returns to expand upon his brilliant first strike earlier this year. Continuing to refine the Ravenbolt approach without losing any of the vibrance and appeal so ever-present on Dark Medieval Blood. What made Dark Medieval Blood so compelling was how Forest Sentinel could craft melodic, atmospheric, and almost symphonic black metal without falling prey to the easy and obvious tropes that have often driven the genre into the realm of pastiche. With Black Banner Of War, he continues this trend of shirking the opulence that tainted this sub-genre previously and instead using all elements of the composition to focus on the malicious, ruthless, and spiteful aspects of the subject matter to bring a more caustic atmosphere to the forefront. Dark Medieval Blood was a fully-formed realization of this fierce approach, and yet Black Banner of War has built upon this radiantly.