Black Metal Reviews - Part. II

(all reviews were originally written for Black Metal Daily)

Nidernes – “Beyond the Gleam of Nightsky” (Black Gangrene Productions, 2022)

Well… is there a real need to describe the Portuguese Black Metal, today? I dare say this is one of the hotbeds for Black Metal in the 21^st century. No, it is in fact one of the hotbeds for Black Metal in the 21^st century, and it embraces me with that overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. We are not just European Football champions; we are also one of the go-to countries in contemporary Black Metal (and I am not even a big fan of Football). This just to show how far we, a small country, with an amazing History, great beaches, and superb food, have reached the top of “Mountain Black Metal”. How did we do it? Well, Nidernes will be on that lot in a few years, I reckon. How? By producing devastating Black Metal like the one we got in their – or his – new release: “Beyond the Gleam of Nightsky”.

“Darkness Cenotaph”, from 2020, set the bar high, but the collaboration with Obskuritatem just struck me ferociously. On this one what do we have? We have keyboards, and more keyboards. Those that know me and know where I come from in terms of Black Metal, are aware of my passion for keyboards added to the genre. For years it was seen as “weak” and “not belonging”, but the truth is, we went back in time in a variety of aspects, that I feel I got “my” Black Metal back. Atmospheres and terrifying melodies; not an extended, but a very accurate description of what the Artists accomplished with this one. What more? We got M. from Lamp of Murmur, to sing in a couple of tracks, and it just elevates the tracks to a much higher level. It transports the Music to a different layer of creation. What? Yes. What? It is Black Metal, but you can almost feel that a distinct being living inside it. It is not easy to describe, you need to listen to it. 

Nidernes carries that anger, that aggressiveness, that Black Metal DNA that we love so much, and this release just made me rethink my perspective on the band / project. The usage of keyboards and clean vocals, a heavy, heavy bass, and we were given this. I feel that the Portuguese musicians have emulated the formula, “played around” with it, and developed a more intricate structure around it; and the most impressive thing is that not a single drop of essence is lost. This is an example of Black Metal at its best. As a final note, go check “Joyous Those Blessed with Madness”, and tell me if that is a not a bloody epic Black Metal track. Tremendous.

Nocturnal Prayer – “Mutilation on the Bed of Winter” (Inferna Profundus Records, 2022)

Canada is mostly known for being the birth of Blasphemy, which is still regarded as an institution when it comes to Bestial War Black Death Metal and a whole lot of other tags; but the Canadian scene has grown into a very diversified set of bands and artists, which is amazing! To say that there is a Canadian Black Metal sound, might sound a bit far fetch for some, but it is a reality. I reckon it is the weather that leads people to go mental – Akitsa – or diverge into a much more melancholic and somber perspective of the sound – Gris, for example.

But the offer we have for you today is not within the same micro-spheres of Blasphemy, Akitsa, or Gris. When I started in Black Metal, I had no aesthetic boxes I had to tick; I just absorbed it all, as a whole, crazy style, as there were no idea of A or B. as I grew in the genre, I began to be drawn into certain bands, albums, very much based on what I saw – just like any Heavy Metal fan… oh, the cliches – and that led me to some bad experiences, but also to some remarkable surprises. Today, as an old geezer, I became very picky of where I decide to spend my time, and so I was very lucky to discover these mates in 2020, with “Advance on Weakened Foes”, and I was immediately blown away by their music, their approach, their honesty, and their words. They have this majestic, almost symphonic, yet not-symphonic, side to their sound, that I love. How can I put into words… epic, barbaric, freezing cold, overwhelming? I truly feel these mates have a small little treasure on their hands, a very particular way to address the listeners’ wishes: piercing yet romanticized Black Metal. “Forests Stained in Ritual” has a massive guitar riff by the end. Mates, if that does not make you have faith in Black Metal for the Future… please exit the building. But not only that! I can hear evolution in their sound, and I like it. But has this evolution led them to a point where their sound no longer holds the premises of Black Metal – whatever they are – or did they grab on to those pillars and added bits, and bits, of… quality?! Yap, quality. I expect the band’s next release to be even better.

Mantiel – “Obskurité” (Inferna Profundus Records, 2022)

Haunting melodies, claustrophobic images, devilish chants, and a raw taste in your mouth. A slow pace, a dense aura of Hate and Desperation. Sometimes Black Metal takes me to those places, where the Being releases all of its anger and hate, where you are allowed to spit on the cross (use cross as a metaphor for what you hate / despise) and walk away free of all that emotional weight. It might sound strange, I agree, but I have always seen the genre as liberating. Is Mantiel a vehicle of liberation? Can we assume that Music can be a vehicle of liberation? Yes, we can. A bit like what I extract from Joy Division, Black Metal provides that safe haven for all my pain and less positive realities; “Obskurité” is a record that, first of all, has this line that crosses the whole set of songs. Not that one is a copy of the other, but we can feel these balanced melodies, like it was one song split into more (well, maybe not quite like that). 

I do not know if I got the message across, but flow is a word that pops-up. The melodies are so classic, “rescued” from a glorious Past, a reigning Past, but they are of now, of this present time and place. One could choose an enormous set, or just a pair of words, in order to try and describe what is this record, but we would end up short. The biggest accomplishment I can find is the ability to make the music sound “old”, yet so refreshing. A contemporary twist to the premises of the genre. Again, this might be an enormous cliché, and I truly do not care, but this idea that musicians “went back in time” in an attempt to absorb what The Old Ones crafted, bring it back to Present time, and develop it into a much bigger Beast… challenge accepted, mission accomplished, old blokes. I am a sucker for Black Metal from the 90s; I still believe that the best of the genre was created back in the 90s; I do not, and will never, claim that today’s Black Metal is weak, for it is an evolution of the basis.

That being said: these more recent, and not so recent, bands, brought a new energy to the genre, and I thank them for that. When it comes to “Obskurité”: it is that sort of record in which you have to dive, let it come to you, let it grow, slowly, until you feel as a part of the record, an emotional extension of the record. A bit like what Mutiilation does for me, dragging me down and emotionally hitting me till unconsciousness, Mantiel’s “Obskurité” is one of those musical realities, a one of a kind. But please, do not take my words for it; go and give it a try.