Castevet - Mounds of Ash (2010)^{Release ID: 10632}

US band Castavet's debut album "Mounds Of Ash" is a very good example of avant-garde black metal. They've hit on a sound that is fairly original & progressive but still manages to fit comfortably into the black metal genre. In fact they remind me of Norway's Ved Buens Ende quite a bit at times. There are some moments here that don't quite work (such as the intro section of "Mounds Of Ash") but these are made up for by the brilliance of other sections (such as opener "Red Star Sans Chastity"). The production, whilst not being incredible, does the band no harm & the musicianship is good. I'd like to see a darker atmosphere on future releases (perhaps some keyboards too) but I find this to be a promising debut that suggests that Castavet may be bound for bigger & better things.