Nehemah
Light Of A Dead Star
[Oaken Shield]
Another band poised to ascend to the throne of the French Black Legions must surely be long-running French outfit Nehëmah. Supposedly frontman/bassist Corven has been going in the underground since 1996, though this album is their first full-length release. Ten seconds into the first song, though, and you already feel like you're back in that ancient time. From top to bottom, they capture the essence of thin, raw sound and grand, sinister songsmithing peculiar to those long-past legions. Those Under a Funeral Moon/Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone riffs with the peculiar French take on melody saw forth with a fuzzy, spacious guitar tone on top of reverbed drumming and grim, echoed vocals.
The first song on the album, the title track, would not be out of place on an old Vlad Tepes or Mütiilation album. One notable difference, though, is that it's obvious from the outset that the musicianship is quite high--the guitars may sound fuzzy, but they are precise and work together perfectly to build huge guitar parts. The bass is fairly audible and quite adept at pinning down the basic melodies without resorting to simple root-note shadowing. The drumming, too, may sound a bit reverb/rehearsal-room-ish, but is deceptively technical, not unlike Fenriz' work on A Blaze...--simple and understated, but with occasional fills that let you know he's put some time in the woodshed.
Another thing that sets Nehëmah apart is that they delve deep into exploring the slower realms of atmosphere in black metal. Trudging, almost doomy sections abound even in the title track and "Across the Landscapes", but the album reaches its climax in the masterpiece "Nehëmah in Vulva Infernum". A high-string, slow, droning riff sets up the main motif of the song, and slow drumming and drawn-out vocalizations build a purely frozen atmosphere, interspersed with a melodic cap to the riff that serves as an instrumental chorus--a thing of pure beauty. The entire album's price is worth it just for this one song alone.
© 2003 lord vic
The first song on the album, the title track, would not be out of place on an old Vlad Tepes or Mütiilation album. One notable difference, though, is that it's obvious from the outset that the musicianship is quite high--the guitars may sound fuzzy, but they are precise and work together perfectly to build huge guitar parts. The bass is fairly audible and quite adept at pinning down the basic melodies without resorting to simple root-note shadowing. The drumming, too, may sound a bit reverb/rehearsal-room-ish, but is deceptively technical, not unlike Fenriz' work on A Blaze...--simple and understated, but with occasional fills that let you know he's put some time in the woodshed.
Another thing that sets Nehëmah apart is that they delve deep into exploring the slower realms of atmosphere in black metal. Trudging, almost doomy sections abound even in the title track and "Across the Landscapes", but the album reaches its climax in the masterpiece "Nehëmah in Vulva Infernum". A high-string, slow, droning riff sets up the main motif of the song, and slow drumming and drawn-out vocalizations build a purely frozen atmosphere, interspersed with a melodic cap to the riff that serves as an instrumental chorus--a thing of pure beauty. The entire album's price is worth it just for this one song alone.
© 2003 lord vic