In times before the light (and this time I’m referring to the worldwide internet revolution) the THORNIUM debut – “Dominions Of The Eclipse”, released in 1994/1995 via Necromantic Gallery Production, was one of the real rare / limited / bad distributed jewels of the second wave of Norwegian Black Metal and it took me nearly 2 years to get my grabby fingers on this CD. But it was worth every effort because the album was offering the perfect balance of keyboard supported Black Metal with an unchanged dark and misanthropic heart. So talking on a very personally basis I was looking forward for any kind of new release from this Norwegian band for years, even if the last 15 years have passed without nearly any sign of life. But these years have changed the THORNIUM style drastically. In 2009 the band sounds like a 99,9 % SATYRICON twin, with strong bounds to their 1999 manifest “Rebel Extravaganza”. So don’t expect any warm sound structures – coldness is ruling “Mushroom Clouds And Dusk” and the aggression level is very high. The songs are coming along with maybe not innovative but still good keys with a sound which is supporting the overall atmosphere of the release. But it’s very difficult to judge this album on a neutral level without ending up in the copykill section. THORNIUM have brought their music to another level – think that a further mid-tempo Black Metal album with keys would die by the sword without hesitation because there are just too many bands on this planet which are playing the same kind of music – and their second release is without a doubt a highlight of this year. But the fact that the band in 2009 has more in common with one of the scene “leaders” instead of searching for their own way cannot be ignored completely. www.thornium.com, www.soulsellerrecords.com