Search - Nokturnal Mortum :: Nechrist

Finally, true integration

Owen Cunningham | Southern New England | 09/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The thing that has always appealed to me about black metal is its duality of beauty and brutality. I enjoy and am entertained by bands that express this duality through alternation -- a lyrical acoustic and/or synth piece here, a raging metallic assault there (can you say Opeth?) -- but am truly amazed and impressed by the artistry of those bands that are capable of expressing the duality through integration, creating unified pieces that are equal parts beautiful and brutal concurrently. I've never found a band capable of producing such integration across the board; it's always a release-by-release thing. In my mind the top slot of integration has always been "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" by Emperor -- that is, until I heard Nokturnal Mortum's "Nechrist." It is a truly stunning work. It has taken the top spot as masterpiece of integrated black metal."

Amazingly Crafted

S.Wilson | New York | 12/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is, beyond a doubt, comparable (to me, at least) to the mastery on Ulver's "Nattens Madrigal". Not one part of this album is sloppily put together. The atmosphere, and use of folkish instruments is what REALLY gets me on this album. "In the Fire of the Wooden Churches" really has a way with my skin, as I find myself acquiring goosebumps from listening to it. I also feel the same way about "Black Raven". Their image doesn't matter to me. It's the music that matters, and the music on this album stands out like a painting that just CLICKS. The drumming is absolutely stunning, as are the guitars, and when put side by side with the amazing keyboards and folkish instruments, this album pulls together so much. It feels COMPLETE, it feels WHOLE. I wouldn't change ANYTHING about this album. Magnificent Black Metal at it's best. The opening to Black Raven is, by far, the coolest intro to a song, by the way. The rest of the song is beautiful as well. The only problem I have with this album is that Nokturnal Mortum have now set the bar so high, even for themselves. One can only hope they can reach beyond the mountainous height of this record. Only time will tell. I shall now rock out to this album."

Excellent NSBM for people who don't care about NSBM

duckthing | 05/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is easily one of my favorite black metal releases of the past five years (has it been that long?). If you're put off by the National Socialist messages they espouse, that's your business -- go listen to Emperor or Dimmu Borgir. Just don't let your personal views interfere with your views of this album, and don't consider taking anything away from Nokturnal Mortum. They've put together an insanely brutal black metal album this time around. Even after the release of "Weltanschauung", and countless other amazing black metal albums from other bands over the past few years, this CD still finds its way to my playlist quite often."