Nyrak– "Phoenix Mortis"
(Void Wanderer Productions, 2025)
MELODIC & ATMOSPHERIC BLACK METAL REVIEW
I came across these lads on a well-known YouTube channel that focuses on Black Metal releases. The lad behind the channel is quite good at keeping it updated, which is immensely good for o bloke like me that is unable to know what came out, what is about to come out, etc.
In all honesty, I liked the cover artwork, and knowing
he mostly handles bands that orbit around the Melodic and Atmospheric Black
Metal, and I being more and more back into these fringes of the genre, he does
make my day. Back to Nyrak’s 2025 release, and 2nd full-length, for
that matter, “Phoenix Mortis”, and its enormous melodic facet! I love Black
Metal, period. For a few years I only consumed the rawest of the raw, however I
grew a bit tired of it, and went back to the sound that captivated me back in the
90ies: a more melodic and harmonious sound. In any way is Nyrak a soft, or
gentle, Black Metal band, but one that almost perfectly – in my opinion – fused
melody, and aggressiveness, in a way that a large number of Black Metal fans
can connect to the sound.
It is a 45-minute release, and I “evolved” to not being easily seduced by such long releases. Well… 30 minutes is perfection, right? But… and I love what these guys did. They made it short, if that makes sense. The way they structured their music, the way they painted their sound, makes these 45 minutes go by in a second. The listener is taken on a journey through 8 tracks, smoothly and with ease. I love that the Atmospheric side of the band’s Black Metal does not come out as… how can I put it without sounding offensive? It does not sound flat or lifeless, but vibrant and completely incorporated into the more forceful side of their music.
I forgot to mention they are Belgium and need to point
out that the Belgium Black Metal scene has been immensely active and producing
top-bloody-notch releases and bands. Nyrak was not amongst the Belgium bands I
was aware of, but I need to correct that wrong and go back and check out their
other releases. Overall, “Phoenix Mortis” is a powerful display of contemporary
Black Metal, melodic and atmospheric enough to have these dynamic flows, never
forgetting that Black Metal is, in its core, aggressive and violent, but it
does know how to love and embrace the more melodic and soft side of human
existence. With that… go check it out. Tremendous, majestic even.
Comentários
Enviar um comentário