Over the past few years I had the joy to listen to a lot of fine stuff that was released by the French premier (Post) Black Metal label Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions. With RÄUM from Belgium, they recently signed a fresh act and now we have the first offering from this band. Like so often, I was far from disappointed by a LADLO release. The four piece from the land of beer, chips and chocolate (sorry for borrowing hackneyed clichés here) really convinced me with these four long, diversified and unique songs on “Cursed By The Crown”. RÄUM is not your typical trve Black Metal, nor do they dwell too much in the depth of Post Black Metal. Instead, they found a fine balance of aggressive and atmospheric parts, blended with some great moments that are more in the style of Blackgaze acts. Sometimes I feel reminded of acts like VERHEERER or PARAMNESIA, sometimes it’s early ALCEST that come to mind. Even though these references are quite vague and rather broad in their musical range, they might give you an idea of what you can expect from “Cursed By The Crown”. Especially the two final songs ‘Fallen Empire’ and ‘Beyond The Black Shades Of The Sun’ really show the qualities and the variability of RÄUM. And I’m rather sure that we will hear a lot of this band in the future if they continue to walk the beaten path. Those of you who really like finest Black Metal art should visit the band at www.facebook.com/raum.belgium or check their label at www.facebook.com/ladloproductions