Genre - Black Metal
1. As Wolves Amongst the Ruins
2. Misrule
3. Midnight's Crown
4. Of the Key and Crossed Bones
5. Let Silence be His Sacred Name
6. Inheritor of a Dying World
7. The Lamp of Inverse Light
8. Serpent Sun
Nightbringer
have been making a lot of significant waves in the US scene the last
few years with their ever developing and intoxicating black metal
madness reaching its ninth year since Death and the Black Work,
and while many would rather look down their noses at the USBM scene,
Nightbringer are further proof with Terra Damnata
that those opinions couldn't be further from the truth. Ego
Dominus Tuus was always going to
be a difficult act to follow, probably the album of theirs I would
have ranked as the high water mark amongst their discography, so
their latest release has a lot to live up to. Nevertheless I was
quietly confident this lastest offering would be up to a similar
standard as Nightbringer have a certain indescribable aura that some
bands just seem to have that you get the feeling they can't put a
foot wrong.
Certainly
from the visceral, unbridled chaos of the opening you know they still
mean business, “As Wolves Amongst Ruins” commences the album with
a maelstrom of off kilter guitar leads and riffs which certainly give
more than a slight nod to Emperor's work post Anthems...
Coupled with the dual vocals, a contrast of a high pitched wretched
rasp and more gutteral roar, it makes for an intriguing listen. It's
theatrical in every sense of the word, a carnival of horrors, and as
you listen through the album you're tore backwards helplessly like a
rag-doll through the cathartic, dissonant delirium created by the
band.
One
thing that really impressed me on the last two albums was the sheer
ability that their drummer Menthor displays, the guy is an absolute
animal behind the kit, delivering a barbaric onlsaught that contributes
so much to helping carry and control the flow and intensity of the
album. You have tracks like the opener and “Let Silence be His
Sacred Name” which are an all out aural assault, then you have some
which take the pace off a bit such as the powerful dirge of
“Inheritor of a Dying World”. The audible bass is also a nice
touch as well, as there appears to be an epidemic in the black metal
scene of bands apparently being allergic to utilizing it for some
fucking reason.
It's
the second half of the album where it really rises above everything
else they've done previously though, the intensity of the spiralling
riffs, convulsive vocals and pulverising drumming further coalesce
and threaten to push you that much closer to insanity, once you
finally wrap your head around it all, it's almost impossible to pry
yourself back out of it again. “The Lamp of Inverse Light” is
interesting in that it's more of an atmospheric piece with respite
from the insanity shown previous, no harsh vocals, rather slow
brooding leads layered with the spoken word of the infamous Italian
fascist Julius Evola. It's almost Dance of December Souls
like in its presentation. Final track “Serpent Sun”
makes sure to end the album with
a bang though, probably the highlight of Terra Damnata,
a monolithic and pulverising death march, churning up everything
beneath it.
What
really impresses me about the band is how they manage to keep the
album so varied continually morphing from one guise to another, it's
technical, avant-garde and ambitious without ever losing sight of
what actually 'is' black metal, without ever becoming a pretentious,
experimental and self indulgent mess like many of their peers. It's
not an easy listen, but then again if you're in anyway previously
familiar with the band you know not to expect some bottom of the
barrel generic black metal, for Terra Damnata
is the absolute antithesis to 'generic'. There is so much going on it
takes quite a few listens to disseminate all the layers and find a
bit of breathing space, as it is very claustrophobic at times, but
once you do you'll find it very rewarding. If there was any previous
lingering doubt, for me Terra Damnata
cements Nightbringer's place and evolution as one of the pinnacles of
progressive and forward thinking black metal in the US today. One for
the end of year list for sure.
9.5/10
If you like - Dodsengel, Emperor, Svaritdaudi
Originally written for The Metal Observer
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