Nachtmystium at Myspace

Nachtmystium are the top American Black Metal band that is active today in the sense that they both apart from the pack and leading it. They were born with the depressive and hate filled persona that is now typical of American Black Metal but they went several steps further than most of their contemporaries with every subsequent release with “Assassins” their fourth and most recent album being the standout so far.

“Assassins” crackles with a vibrant sense of energy rarely seen in the top tier of American Black Metal yet retains the ambience of misanthropic loathing that is the hallmark of this regional scene. It also contains a dramatic sense of dynamism a quality often overlooked by their peers in favour of hypnotic repetitiveness. The influence of Psychedelica and Prog Rock also looms favourably with spacey Robert Fripp style solos and fizzling and bubbling Moogs being examples of this. The influence of Pink Floyd and Hawkwind is seen in spirit if not in body with the mind-bending free flowing but always recurring direction of the melodies on display here.

The lyrics are refreshingly direct and unpretentious yet like most USBM bands still evoke a general distaste for humanity and existence as concepts and yet there are also musical interludes with a deep emotional resonance such as the instrumental “Seasick Part I: Drowned at Dusk” and continuing with a saxophone solo on “Seasick Part II: Oceanborne” that’s sounds like its straight out of the seventies. This is a contender for record of the year, and I would certainly be surprised if any American black metal albums are released that are better in the next 6 months.

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 @ 11:15 am Black Metal
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