Lucifugum
Nachristichryashchyah
[Oriana]
With Nokturnal Mortum's rise to fame, the number of Ukrainian black metal
groups has increased substantially, if not skyrocketed. Having such a
renowned band exist right around the corner obviously makes other young,
ambitious Ukrainians just a little jealous and causes them to enduringly
peruse numerous books on Paganism and stoically go through long, wearisome
rehearsals, trying to come up with a winning formula of combining folk music
with black metal. The quantity, of course, doesn't always equal the quality
and, just like in any other scene in any other part of the world, you
inevitably end up with various good-for-nothing bands saturating the local
milieu.
Now, Lucifugum is a different story. They have been around long enough to already have several releases under their belts and be closely associated with Nokturnal Mortum. Along with them Lucifugum were accoladed as the leaders of the Ukrainian scene. Nokturnal Mortum even dedicated their "To The Gates Of Blasphemous Fire" album to Lucifugum's leader Igor Naumchuk.
Lucifugum's strong connections to Nokturnal Mortum must have had a considerable effect on their musical output. Granted, I am not familiar with any of the band's other works, but this particular album has more than a passing resemblance to "To The Gates...," which is even less surprising once you discover that keyboardist Saturious and drummer Munruthel of Nokturnal Mortum were recruited as session musicians. Let me assure you, however, that this band is not a cheap copy of their more famous counterparts. While it resembles Nokturnal Mortum quite a bit, quality-wise this album is essentially on par with "To The Gates..." Although the music is less melodic and does not possess nearly as much folk influence, the similar sound and production, omnipresence of fluttering symphonic keyboard scores, and adequate song writing make this album tantamount with the above mentioned opus and a pretty commendable work in its own right. So, if you are very fond of Nokturnal Mortum, there is no reason for you to ignore this.
© 2001 boris
Now, Lucifugum is a different story. They have been around long enough to already have several releases under their belts and be closely associated with Nokturnal Mortum. Along with them Lucifugum were accoladed as the leaders of the Ukrainian scene. Nokturnal Mortum even dedicated their "To The Gates Of Blasphemous Fire" album to Lucifugum's leader Igor Naumchuk.
Lucifugum's strong connections to Nokturnal Mortum must have had a considerable effect on their musical output. Granted, I am not familiar with any of the band's other works, but this particular album has more than a passing resemblance to "To The Gates...," which is even less surprising once you discover that keyboardist Saturious and drummer Munruthel of Nokturnal Mortum were recruited as session musicians. Let me assure you, however, that this band is not a cheap copy of their more famous counterparts. While it resembles Nokturnal Mortum quite a bit, quality-wise this album is essentially on par with "To The Gates..." Although the music is less melodic and does not possess nearly as much folk influence, the similar sound and production, omnipresence of fluttering symphonic keyboard scores, and adequate song writing make this album tantamount with the above mentioned opus and a pretty commendable work in its own right. So, if you are very fond of Nokturnal Mortum, there is no reason for you to ignore this.
© 2001 boris