Band:	Bound By Entrails
Album:	The Oath To Forbear And The Burden Of Inheritance
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Symphonic black metal
Release date:	September 2009

01. Voices From The Past
02. The Furious Host
03. Seafarer's Journey
04. This Too Shall Pass
05. Under The Midnight Sun
06. Tides Of Redemption
07. Tides Of Perdition
08. Inno A Satana [Emperor cover]
09. Across The Dead Night Sky [live]

Bound By Entrails are certainly no strangers to these ears. Almost two years ago I reviewed their debut album For Vallhal's Sorrow. In retrospect, my rating (5.5) was perhaps a bit harsh, but I still stand by my earlier criticism (generic and forgettable). I forgot about them, until I received a message from RuneFire Records notifying me of Bound By Entrails's new album. And that they were sure it would surprise me. So, let's put The Oath To Forbear And The Burden Of Inheritance (said album) to the test, shall we?

Well, let me start by saying that The Oath... easily beats For Vallhal's Sorrow in every imaginable way. Not that that is quite a feat, but it is a sign nonetheless. We're dealing with a band in progress, here.

On The Oath..., Bound By Entrails display a wide variety of influences, mostly from the big ones of the Black metal scene. For example, Mayhem rears its ugly head in the opening riff of "Seafarer's Journey", a riff that sounds as a left-over from the legendary De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Good stuff. And then there are quite a few riffs that have a folkish feel to them and are a bit 'jumpier' than your usual tremolo-picked high-speed riff. And obviously Emperor cannot go mentioned ("Inno A Satana" is covered quite decently), although the symphonic elements remain in the background and are an additional element rather than a driving force (which is a good thing, because I usually hate thickly-layered keyboards).

Let this be clear for y'all: Bound By Entrails are hardly innovative, but they play fresh and mature Black metal. Every aspect of the album helps towards this, from the catchy 'n fast riffs through the short organically flowing interludes to the fittingly clean production. Each track his its cool parts and the album doesn't bore the listener in the long run.

Final conclusion: The Oath... is a big step for Bound By Entrails and a small step for humankind. And no, that is not supposed to be the other way around. While they are still no major part of today's Black metal scene, they have now delivered a mature and worthwhile (at times even thoroughly enjoyable) album. And, perhaps more important than the current rating I'm giving them, they're progressing. Their largest accomplishment with The Oath... is that they've made me interested in hearing a third album from them.