SOUVARIS
A Hat
(Gringo)

DEFCON 4
The Bad Road
(Supernova)

HAIL! HORNET
S/T
(Dwell)

EVOKEN
A Caress of the Void
(I Hate)

NORTHERN LIBERTIES
Ghost Mind Electricity
(Badmaster)

GEZOLEEN
Black Spaces Between Stars 

(Acerbic Noise Development)

LARKIN
Every Day Begs the Question

(Mother Should Know)

MORE REVIEWS

There are many reasons why I love extreme metal. Beauty, delicacy, fragility and elusiveness are certainly not any of them. It takes either a truly discerning ear or a fully dumb mind to kneel to this kind of black metal and dish out the honestly earned bucks.  What I most admire of this American combo is the weaving guitar melodies that are mostly prevalent during the numbers where the band takes its time crafting obscure melodies out of lugubrious blank space. That’s not to say that their rapid stuff has no merit, the direct brutality of “Keep Them Open” for instance totally shakes you,  but it’s in tracks such as “Chosen by No One” and “A Seed for Suffering”  where Nachtmystium shines, or perhaps more appropriately is darker than all. There, the melodies mostly possess a heavy metal vibe only leaned towards the black metal nether regions due to the caustic sound that is usually a product of lo fi/cheap production, and the skeletical yet totally from beyond voice of band leader Azentrius.  

Black metal bands are either clenching their claws into pure heavy metal soil, wrapping their mayhem around warping speed, or doing enough drugs and listening to fucked up psychedelic 70’s rock for a helping of different sounds; the easily monikered Nachtmystium definitely belongs to the latter. Especially when they want to, because occasionally, like is the case of “Circumvention” the band’s sound sort of flip flops between both grounds; at times full speed ahead Satanic to no end, yet when the foot needs a break a more thoughtful and crafty edge shows its experimental face and swivering guitar histrionics elevate this band’s attack beyond that of the mere contenders. I guess judgment it’s up to the listener; especially with a style as marginal and dividing as black metal, beyond all the Cradle of Filth’s of the world, (and there is nothing wrong with them), stuff like Nachtmystium is much more exotic and tempting. Not only because of it’s clear limited appeal but because of its restricted budget, bullet belts, and purely pitch black incantation.   

Official Site
Read the Nachtmystium interview here