Enthral

Enthral first surfaced in 1995 as peripheral figures within Norway’s crowded black metal scene, hailing from the small town of Sunndalsøra. Only after the band shifted its base to Oslo a few years later did founding drummer and vocalist Kjetil Hektoen together with guitarist Gunnhild Bratset cross paths with bassist Martin Rafoss. The newly assembled trio then cut its debut full-length, Prophecies of the Dying, which blended the expected black metal hallmarks of blistering tempos and satanic imagery with less conventional gothic, atmospheric, and doom influences. Guest vocals on the record came from Ingrid Skretting. That release opened the door to a comparable follow-up, 1998’s The Mirror’s Opposite End, which expanded the lineup to include Skretting, additional guitarist Espen Simonsen, and Stian Aarstad, formerly of Dimmu Borgir, on keyboards. Both albums remained virtually unknown outside the most obscure underground circles, a situation partly attributed to their tiny independent label, Hot. The group would not enter the studio again until 2003, when it recorded Subterranean Movement. Hektoen later appeared on Crest of Darkness’s 2004 album Evil Knows Evil, casting uncertainty over Enthral’s continued existence.