Nightbringer / Dødsengel - Circumambulations of the Solar Inferno

Written by Zamaan Raza.

Artwork & Layout by Antithesis

This high concept occult black metal split from the ever excellent Daemon Worship Productions features the USA’s Nightbringer and Norway’s Dødsengel. The four tracks follow the sun on four parts of its journey from death, through the underworld, to ascension and finally rebirth. The mystical tone is immediately set by the gloriously unsettling artwork, a pentacle-like sigil surrounded by images of the Egyptian sun god Ra.

Nightbringer’s side is undoubtedly the more challenging: a roiling chaos anchored by an atonal, serpentine, tremolo-picked riff. If you are familiar with their superb 2011 album Hierophany of the Open Grave, you will have some idea of what to expect --- although, thanks to new drummer Menthor (Necrosadist, Lvcifyre, Corpus Christii, Enthroned), this one somehow feels more dense and claustrophobic.

The tracks by Dødsengel are a shade closer to second wave orthodoxy, which is not to say they are short of ideas, by any means. These two songs slowly build momentum, with doom metal mutating into black. The standout track of the split, “Watchtower of the South: Drunk on Innermost Fire” starts as with a crushing riff before morphing into a weightless cosmic pilgrimage in the mould of Darkspace.

Whilst Nightbringer’s contribution is a frenzied, blood-soaked ritual, Dødsengel’s is almost meditative. In keeping with the theme, Nightbringer’s side is a destructive descent; Dødsengel’s is creative, a summoning; The former’s production is diamond-sharp and caustic, the latter’s is murky and subdued. These two starkly contrasting styles are proof that that there is still room for creativity in black metal. A must-buy.

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Grey - Sisters of the Wyrd

Kreation Records have opened a Bandcamp. There are currently 24 albums uploaded and "there will be more in the coming weeks". Among them you'll find releases by Evoken, Morgion, Nachtmystium, Zoroaster, Acid King, and... Grey. The Hammer Horror witches coven style cover to Sisters of the Wyrd made me think some kind of goth metal, but this is much darker and much much heavier. Grey plays doom, hard and loud. From a base of crunching slowed down Sabbathian riffs, they add tough as nails death doom and funeral doom hypnotism.

The first song "At Night" isn't the best, it doesn't hang together as well as the rest of the album. At 13 minutes it also the longest, making it a slightly odd choice for an album opener. Still you get a good taste of the terrific vocals. Raw and harsh and with an black metal style evilness that's very effective; and the equally terrific drumming. Heavy when need be, but also with a looseness and fills and rolls that channels the mighty Mr. Ward.

The next two songs are the main attractions on Sisters of the Wyrd. "Taker of Souls" with the brutal riff bookending a lethargic middle section that just oozes hopelessness; making the "I stand before...doom" line sound entirely believable. And the atmospheric (but still incredibly heavy) "Sacrifice At Glastonbury Tor" with a harrowing vocal performance, and a gigantic main riff carrying its tale of ancient mysticism,

Sisters of the Wyrd is rounded out by the more traditionally doomy "Fields of Grey" with its sad lyrics, and a ferocious cover of 13’s "Wither". The production is clear without sacrificing any of the heaviness or atmosphere; I don't want to use the word "perfect", but I really can't find any fault with it. According to my Googling Sisters of the Wyrd fell under the radar when it was released in 2008. I like it a lot, so my advice is: Don't let it fall under yours.

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Infera Bruo - Desolate Unknown

Review by Red.

Cover art by Andrzej Masianis

On Desolate Unknown, the follow-up to Infera Bruo’s excellent self-titled album, the experimentation is turned down slightly (or maybe sideways would be a better term for it); it seems closer to the second and third waves rather than the usual USBM “we can do whatever we want” bent. Also the production is much improved, and I don’t have to crank the volume up to 10 just so I can hear the intricacies of it.

In a general sense, the vocals and instruments sound the same as they did previously. There is a greater sense of clarity, despite the buzzy nature of the guitar parts and the overwhelming power of the drums. The vocals remain a harsh rasp that reminds of Ihsahn and there are occasional clean vocals which are considerably more melodic.

The first two tracks are quite good. and in a way, they’re exactly what I was expecting from the second album as a whole; the sense of immediacy and boundless energy is what I want to hear. The first of two segues follows; although neither has much musical content, I think they are important to showcase other parts of the band’s vision.

Two tracks follow that exhibit the curveballs I was expecting. “Ritual Within” starts off with a slow and doomy descending riff that is repeated (perhaps too) liberally throughout. One thing I like is the solo, which comes around twelve minutes in and closes the song out on a high note. “Dust of Stars” has some harmonized tremolo lines that I thought were a nice touch.

I missed the presence of a killer and undeniable riff like in the previous release’s closing track, but Desolate Unknown is a solid follow-up and should expand Infera Bruo’s fanbase.

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