Nachtmystium is one hell of a black metal band. Having shocked the world with their cutting edge psychedelic black metal in the last two albums, Assassins: Black Meddle Part One and Addicts: Black Meddle Part Two, Nachtmystium has a pretty huge backlog to uphold with their latest album. Whilst the older albums were experimentally shocking, there were some songs that didn't well. However, their willingness to destroy the blueprints of black metal has definitely paid off.
Nachtmystium is not another cult band trying to do something weird. For an experimental band, Nachtmystium's no bullshit approach to music is surprising here. Take for instance the pure black metal elements in songs like 'I Wait In Hell' (which is a great black metal anthem on it's own, there hasn't been a good black metal chorus like this in a while), 'Give Me The Grave' and the fantastic 'Reduced To Ashes'. All the elements are there; dissonance, blastbeats, hellish vocals and soaring tremelo picked guitar solos.
But the experimentation does pay off. None of them seem to be put here as a gimmick, unlike some bands like Nile. The industrial directions doesn't follow the Rammstein/Slipknot style of flashy electronic noises, but rather the grudgy, out of this world effects from bands like Killing Joke or even the post-punk of Joy Division (whom they recently covered in one of their EPs/Splits). This isn't black metal for moshing to, but rather to soak yourself in on long walks after the rain or at night when the air is chilly. The post punk on 'Borrowed Hope And Broken Dreams' is a good example of their melodic approach.
There are some downsides though. Some experimentation may come across as annoying, like the buzzing synth on 'Decimation Annihilation' which may raise some eyebrows. Also, despite the good variations in song length and structure, the album doesn't have the great diversity that Addicts: Black Meddle Part Two had, and may seem bland to the casual listener.
All in all, I still think this is a fantastic album, though getting used to Nachtmystium will be a highly subjective issues.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable
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