Nargaroth
Herbstleyd
[No Colours]
German black metal. That phrase alone could have lost Nargaroth a large
potential audience already, what with the ceaseless amount of banal and generic
bollocks being thrown our way by mega-poser labels like Last Episode and
Serenades (ugh.), intent only on capitalizing on whatever the latest trends
circulating around the extreme metal circles. In my humble opinion there has yet
to be a truly noteworthy world class German black metal band (you are not going
to tell me that Absurd are that band, they are not, they are a pointless exercise in
bad oi punk shite) besides the awesome Lunar Aurora.
No Colours have arguably entered a more diverse foray of late, what with the signing of Joyless (avantgarde-ish weirdness), Absent Silence (Thergothon meets Thy Serpent), Suicidal Winds (retro-thrash) and Vordven (keyboard-laden black metal), forsaking their policy of signing only the most elite and misanthropic of the black metal crop, and obviously it seems as though No Colours are broadening their horizons. Enter Nargaroth, No Colour’s newest, greatest hope and perhaps the most monumental release on the label alongside Thousand Swords, and testament to No Colours’ uncanny ability to release some of the most emotionally charged and monolithic music in the black metal genre.
Herbstleyd is not only single-handedly the most important black metal release to be exhumed from the German black metal community, it might also be one of the most profound displays of black/dark metal to be heard on the continent, right up there with anything the French and Polish crème have served.
The disc opens with a haunting, macabre, desolate wail before transcending into a monotonous hymn set against the background of clashing swords and bloodshed. A simplistic, mournful synth chord progression chimes in the reprise of the woman’s chant, before tranquillity sets in and nature is employed as a sound effect, and a lengthy soliloquy is delivered in a thick Germanic accent, ultimately breaking into a monumental black metal section. This is just one of the inspired examples of the many samples used in the disc, and strangely, although approximately a third of the disc is taken up by manipulated sounds, chilling synth chords and samples, they work incredibly well in building up the truly desolate atmosphere that the disc transcends. Effectively, Nargaroth is one of the few bands that can make use of depressive dark-ambient sections and fuse it with majestic black metal without making it sound contrived or disjointed. Everything flows with a very primordial, yet effortless ease.
In the black metal sections, which presumably is the main point of interest for most, we are presented with a truly majestic Immortal Pride-esque form of black art. The majesty involved here is not the contrived and plastic majesty employed by every carbon copy band infecting the mainstream with their idiocy, but an evocative, truly emotional form of paganistic expression that perhaps can be compared to American band Lycanthropy (especially due to the omnipresent use of keys throughout as ambient backup to the lead harmonic guitars) and the aforementioned new Graveland album. Drum beats are kept relatively simple, at times employing militaristic, dictatorial rhythms which coalesce with depressive riffs that repeat themselves to inscribe themselves in your subconscious. An arsenal of submissive, truly melancholic riffs ring of a funereal sense of futility, as though they were a mournful cry, an utterance of defeat. The vocals only serve to aid this purpose, sounding like a more desperate and mournful hybrid of Varg and Rob Darken. Each track ranges from a funereal, dirgey and depressive thud to more mid-paced/quasi-blast sections, presenting us with a diverse range of evocative paces signifying contemplation, mourning and actual battle.
I sincerely don’t have enough words to describe this slab of molten genius, and I actually don’t think that my pitiful arsenal of words could go very far in illustrating this masterful work. I did also forget to mention that this is the work of a sole warrior with the nom-de-guerres of Kannwulf, who plays and orchestrates everything by himself, making it that much more impressive. If you have a penchant for the more contemplative and mournful moments of Burzum and Graveland, all shot through without a hint of euphoria or hope, you will savour every minute of this most funereal and most inspired work of lycanthropic art.
[10]
© 2000 equimanthorn
No Colours have arguably entered a more diverse foray of late, what with the signing of Joyless (avantgarde-ish weirdness), Absent Silence (Thergothon meets Thy Serpent), Suicidal Winds (retro-thrash) and Vordven (keyboard-laden black metal), forsaking their policy of signing only the most elite and misanthropic of the black metal crop, and obviously it seems as though No Colours are broadening their horizons. Enter Nargaroth, No Colour’s newest, greatest hope and perhaps the most monumental release on the label alongside Thousand Swords, and testament to No Colours’ uncanny ability to release some of the most emotionally charged and monolithic music in the black metal genre.
Herbstleyd is not only single-handedly the most important black metal release to be exhumed from the German black metal community, it might also be one of the most profound displays of black/dark metal to be heard on the continent, right up there with anything the French and Polish crème have served.
The disc opens with a haunting, macabre, desolate wail before transcending into a monotonous hymn set against the background of clashing swords and bloodshed. A simplistic, mournful synth chord progression chimes in the reprise of the woman’s chant, before tranquillity sets in and nature is employed as a sound effect, and a lengthy soliloquy is delivered in a thick Germanic accent, ultimately breaking into a monumental black metal section. This is just one of the inspired examples of the many samples used in the disc, and strangely, although approximately a third of the disc is taken up by manipulated sounds, chilling synth chords and samples, they work incredibly well in building up the truly desolate atmosphere that the disc transcends. Effectively, Nargaroth is one of the few bands that can make use of depressive dark-ambient sections and fuse it with majestic black metal without making it sound contrived or disjointed. Everything flows with a very primordial, yet effortless ease.
In the black metal sections, which presumably is the main point of interest for most, we are presented with a truly majestic Immortal Pride-esque form of black art. The majesty involved here is not the contrived and plastic majesty employed by every carbon copy band infecting the mainstream with their idiocy, but an evocative, truly emotional form of paganistic expression that perhaps can be compared to American band Lycanthropy (especially due to the omnipresent use of keys throughout as ambient backup to the lead harmonic guitars) and the aforementioned new Graveland album. Drum beats are kept relatively simple, at times employing militaristic, dictatorial rhythms which coalesce with depressive riffs that repeat themselves to inscribe themselves in your subconscious. An arsenal of submissive, truly melancholic riffs ring of a funereal sense of futility, as though they were a mournful cry, an utterance of defeat. The vocals only serve to aid this purpose, sounding like a more desperate and mournful hybrid of Varg and Rob Darken. Each track ranges from a funereal, dirgey and depressive thud to more mid-paced/quasi-blast sections, presenting us with a diverse range of evocative paces signifying contemplation, mourning and actual battle.
I sincerely don’t have enough words to describe this slab of molten genius, and I actually don’t think that my pitiful arsenal of words could go very far in illustrating this masterful work. I did also forget to mention that this is the work of a sole warrior with the nom-de-guerres of Kannwulf, who plays and orchestrates everything by himself, making it that much more impressive. If you have a penchant for the more contemplative and mournful moments of Burzum and Graveland, all shot through without a hint of euphoria or hope, you will savour every minute of this most funereal and most inspired work of lycanthropic art.
[10]
© 2000 equimanthorn