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Reign of the Malicious (2002)
Nachtmystium is an American black metal project, formed in 2000 by Azentrius and helped along by a revolving line-up. Though not one of the most interesting bands of the modern era, they began as many others in paying tribute to the early '90s sound. Their 2002 demo, Reign of the Malicious, is one of the better works to come from Nachtmystium.
The sound is really poor, almost as if they were playing in the basement while the tape recorder was running upstairs. The way some of the songs begin with feedback and whatnot also seems to lend an air of informality to the whole thing. That is not necessarily negative, as the primitive approach really suits the musical style and overall presentation. There is sort of an LLN vibe on display here. Despite the fuzzy and distant quality, the guitars are able to stand out amongst the rest, rather than being buried by the percussion. They have a sharp edge to them, which is a positive thing. The drumming is a bit sloppy but that kind of works. Even the vocals are just high enough to play a role in creating a grim and ugly atmosphere.
Musically, Reign of the Malicious is completely derivative of bands like Darkthrone, Mütiilation and Burzum. There are a lot of cold and mournful tremolo riffs throughout the demo and they are actually rather memorable. Being unoriginal is not always a bad thing, so long as the music maintains some decent level of quality. Three of the five studio tracks on here are rather enjoyable, if you are a fan of the aforementioned bands. There are some decent tremolo riffs in the northern style, with songs like the title track, "Hateful Descent" and "May Darkness Consume the Earth" being worth a listen. The rest is pointless filler. Worse yet is the cover of Burzum's "Lost Wisdom". This is one of those bands that no one should ever attempt to cover, as there is absolutely no way to do justice to the originals and the only outcome is disappointment. This version falls flat as expected and exposes Nachtmystium's weaknesses even more.
In the end, this demo is not worth bothering with. There are a few decent songs but nothing that hasn't been heard a hundred times before. Nachtmystium, at their best, managed to come closer to honouring the spirit of the Second Wave better than their American peers Judas Iscariot ever could, for example. Problem is, Azentrius was rather inconsistent and failed to put the proper amount of time and effort into making sure all of the songs were strong and worthwhile. Either way, this could not exist at all and nothing would be lost.
The sound is really poor, almost as if they were playing in the basement while the tape recorder was running upstairs. The way some of the songs begin with feedback and whatnot also seems to lend an air of informality to the whole thing. That is not necessarily negative, as the primitive approach really suits the musical style and overall presentation. There is sort of an LLN vibe on display here. Despite the fuzzy and distant quality, the guitars are able to stand out amongst the rest, rather than being buried by the percussion. They have a sharp edge to them, which is a positive thing. The drumming is a bit sloppy but that kind of works. Even the vocals are just high enough to play a role in creating a grim and ugly atmosphere.
Musically, Reign of the Malicious is completely derivative of bands like Darkthrone, Mütiilation and Burzum. There are a lot of cold and mournful tremolo riffs throughout the demo and they are actually rather memorable. Being unoriginal is not always a bad thing, so long as the music maintains some decent level of quality. Three of the five studio tracks on here are rather enjoyable, if you are a fan of the aforementioned bands. There are some decent tremolo riffs in the northern style, with songs like the title track, "Hateful Descent" and "May Darkness Consume the Earth" being worth a listen. The rest is pointless filler. Worse yet is the cover of Burzum's "Lost Wisdom". This is one of those bands that no one should ever attempt to cover, as there is absolutely no way to do justice to the originals and the only outcome is disappointment. This version falls flat as expected and exposes Nachtmystium's weaknesses even more.
In the end, this demo is not worth bothering with. There are a few decent songs but nothing that hasn't been heard a hundred times before. Nachtmystium, at their best, managed to come closer to honouring the spirit of the Second Wave better than their American peers Judas Iscariot ever could, for example. Problem is, Azentrius was rather inconsistent and failed to put the proper amount of time and effort into making sure all of the songs were strong and worthwhile. Either way, this could not exist at all and nothing would be lost.
(29 Jan. 2013)
Demise (2004)
Nachtmystium began as yet another generic band that owed its existence to the likes of Darkthrone, Burzum and Mütiilation. The music was fairly bland, with a few decent ideas tossed in though hardly original. Blake Judd, the driving force behind this project, was just another fanboy that wanted to try his hand at recreating the past in his own mediocre way. The band's second demo (that's what he called it when he handed me the CD) Demise was released through Autopsy Kitchen Records in early 2004. For what it is, this is not terrible. It was later released with different artwork, but the Burzum rip-off job that is featured on the original suits the music far better.
There are basically two songs on here worth hearing at all, those being "Solitary Voyage" and "Scorpio Incarnate". These are pretty much tributes to Burzum and Darkthrone, respectively. The former is more mid-paced and features some mournful riffs while the second is a faster song built around cold tremolo melodies. Say what you will, but the guy wasn't completely untalented. Judas Iscariot also tried to rip off the aforementioned Norwegians but failed to do as good of a job as Nachtmystium managed, here. The fuzzy guitar sound is reminiscent of Filosofem and, similarly, the vocals are buried in the mix to an extent.
Demise is not totally bereft of good ideas. Even at its best, it is entirely derivative of earlier works but that is par for the course with black metal. At any rate, you may enjoy this if you have low expectations and aren't bothered by fifth-tier ripoff bands.
There are basically two songs on here worth hearing at all, those being "Solitary Voyage" and "Scorpio Incarnate". These are pretty much tributes to Burzum and Darkthrone, respectively. The former is more mid-paced and features some mournful riffs while the second is a faster song built around cold tremolo melodies. Say what you will, but the guy wasn't completely untalented. Judas Iscariot also tried to rip off the aforementioned Norwegians but failed to do as good of a job as Nachtmystium managed, here. The fuzzy guitar sound is reminiscent of Filosofem and, similarly, the vocals are buried in the mix to an extent.
Demise is not totally bereft of good ideas. Even at its best, it is entirely derivative of earlier works but that is par for the course with black metal. At any rate, you may enjoy this if you have low expectations and aren't bothered by fifth-tier ripoff bands.
(2 Nov. 2011)
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