Nokturnal Mortum
To The Gates of Blasphemous Fire
[The End]
One would expect that NOKTURNAL MORTUM wouldn't be able to top their previous masterpiece "Goat Horns"...heh well...THEY SURE AS HELL DID!!! These ukrainians have come up with an album that makes EMPEROR's "In the Nightside Eclipse" look like a walk in the park! "To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire" has taken everything from their previous album a step further into the dark realms of LUNAR BLACK METAL EXCELLENCE!!!
The album starts with raging battle cries and clashing swords and then..."Bestial Summoning" kicks off and blows you away! The band BURSTS with aggression and ancient rage and still manages to combine it with fantastic folklore elements and amazing synth melodies! The sound is thicker than on "Goat Horns" and this album is the proof that black metal is still alive in the darkest realms that have nothing to do with Norway nor the fjords!
The second song is the title track which manages to even EXCEED the previous song in brutality and atmosphere! Amazing! The third song "On the Moonlight Path" is one of the best songs on the album. Darkness, Hate, Lunar mysticism and folklore are all combined into a raging thunderstorm that this song is!! The next few songs are equally stunning, preparing the feeble listener to the utter excellence that the magnificent "The 13th Asbath Celebration" is! A dark ritualistic opus featuring some of the best choruses I've ever heard! The musician's skills in this band are truly something unearthly!
"Cheremosh" slows things down a little with it's wind/forest/river effects and rolling drums on the background leading on to the final masterpiece on this album, the epic "Forgotten Ages of Victories" which is an amazing battle hymn featuring incredible synths, solid drumming and great guitar-riffs! The song breaks in the middle to only a war-drum and battle cries of warriors and ancient pride with a narrative voice on the background that fits in perfectly! The song itself is simply amazing.
Not only is this album the best black metal album I've heard in years, it is also one of the GREATEST BLACK METAL ALBUMS EVER RELEASED!!! HAIL NOKTURNAL MORTUM!!
10/10
© 2000 naargrim
The album starts with raging battle cries and clashing swords and then..."Bestial Summoning" kicks off and blows you away! The band BURSTS with aggression and ancient rage and still manages to combine it with fantastic folklore elements and amazing synth melodies! The sound is thicker than on "Goat Horns" and this album is the proof that black metal is still alive in the darkest realms that have nothing to do with Norway nor the fjords!
The second song is the title track which manages to even EXCEED the previous song in brutality and atmosphere! Amazing! The third song "On the Moonlight Path" is one of the best songs on the album. Darkness, Hate, Lunar mysticism and folklore are all combined into a raging thunderstorm that this song is!! The next few songs are equally stunning, preparing the feeble listener to the utter excellence that the magnificent "The 13th Asbath Celebration" is! A dark ritualistic opus featuring some of the best choruses I've ever heard! The musician's skills in this band are truly something unearthly!
"Cheremosh" slows things down a little with it's wind/forest/river effects and rolling drums on the background leading on to the final masterpiece on this album, the epic "Forgotten Ages of Victories" which is an amazing battle hymn featuring incredible synths, solid drumming and great guitar-riffs! The song breaks in the middle to only a war-drum and battle cries of warriors and ancient pride with a narrative voice on the background that fits in perfectly! The song itself is simply amazing.
Not only is this album the best black metal album I've heard in years, it is also one of the GREATEST BLACK METAL ALBUMS EVER RELEASED!!! HAIL NOKTURNAL MORTUM!!
10/10
© 2000 naargrim