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Barshasketh is a duo from New Zealand. Their album Defying the Bonds of Cosmic Thralldom is raw black metal, at the face of it. I mean, the trappings are there: The production is tinny, there's no use of keyboards and, the vocals are harsh screams buried way behind the music. But the songs are dynamic, well constructed and remarkably melodic. The playing is excellent, the use of layered guitar tracks that play off against each other works well. Foreboding atmospheric parts lead up to explosions of raw aggression. Dig below the rawness and you'll discover that there is a lot going on on this album.