UK black metal unit Final Dose have, to paraphrase the blessed David Gahan, got the balance right on new offering Under The Eternal Shadow. Bands that purport to be a mix of black metal and punk often disappoint me, leaning too far one way or the other, bolting bits of each genre together without really seeing the bigger picture, but on the short and sharp collection of tracks offered here it’s easy to see just how well the band approach the business of melding the two seemingly disparate noiseforms.

On tracks like Wretched and Locked In The Black Dungeon the approach pays of big time; at some points, if you shut your ears off and concentrate just on the guitars, the spirit of ’82 is strong, but those buzzsaw sonic assaults complement the more sulphurous intent of the songwriting so well you can’t help but be thoroughly convinced by the whole thing. Stanley Gravett’s mix is perfect; it’s big and punchy but it never feels fake or airbrushed, and it allows the filth inherent in the riffs to shine through. As Dolly Parton once said, it takes a lot of money to look this cheap, but it’s money well spent here as the sound is one of the best I’ve heard on a ‘primitive’ black metal recording.

That’s an oxymoron, of course, but when you sit down with the record for  couple of spins you’ll see what I mean; This a serious piece of sonic filth!

The band promise dungeon synth and folk interludes to leaven the fury, but whilst you do get the odd flash of both, alongside the odd whiff of goth/post punk, they never dilute the main thrust of the record. They do give it a small point of difference from the rest of the pack, however, and consequently this is a bit of a must-hear record if you enjoy a bit of variety mixed in with the extremity.

Under The Eternal Shadow releases on April 11th.