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Nachtmystium mark the next chapter in their career with Doomsday Derelicts (Battle Kommand, 2009). Although only an EP, this release digs as deep as Instinct: Decay. Nachtmystium strip away all Zeppelin-esque tendencies from Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. I (reviewed here) and march forward with crisp sound. The ferocious blast beats, thrashing riffs, and Blake Judd’s croak are easier to digest. Nachtmystium dress down in Doomsday Derelicts compared to their 2008 full-length. No rock star pants for this Chicago outfit, at least on this release.
Hellish Overdose (excerpt)Life of Fire (excerpt)
Unlike in Assassins, Nachtmystium step forward without swaying too far from what they do best: black metal. While their adventurous leanings attracted attention with Assassins, Nachtmystium spare this release of wasted space. In every track, they hit the ground running. This is most obvious in “Hellish Overdose.” The riff revs like an engine as Judd and friends scream that they’re ready to fight. In “Life of Fire,” mid-paced guitars pop with pounding piano, a catchy yet melancholy melody that’s prevalent in their earlier work.
Nachtmystium don’t constrain themselves to conventional black metal limits. Assassins proved their freethinking with new textures, sounds, and empty space. This experimentation awarded them an endorsement by Moog. But this release is less about playful synths and more about reeling Nachtmystium back to their minimalist roots. Doomsday Derelicts leaves hopes for a promising fifth full-length.
I don't think there is any credibility to be gained by dropping the Pink Floyd impression for safe Venom worship – well the first track referenced here, I have no idea what the other one is doing, really. One isn't more honest than the other intrinsically. Credibility generally isn't something one tries for, it just happens. I don't know if Nachtmystium are attempting to regain credibility here, perhaps not, but the album artwork and the logo and the relatively stripped down sound are usually indications that a band is pulling one of those 'back to the roots' maneuvers.
More importantly, though I don't mean to sound too hard on the band, when you say "The ferocious blast beats, thrashing riffs, and Blake Judd's croak are easier to digest." you're not doing them any favours. Music isn't fast-food… Heavy Metal especially shouldn't be trying to make anything easier for anyone. Isn't the element of the extreme, of the upsetting, of the apocalyptic, vital to *all* of Heavy Metal (not just second wave norwegian black metal)? This stuff is really tame. Sounds like another stylistic excursion to me, equally contrived as before. What they're setting out to prove might have changed. But that great Heavy Metal usually doesn't occur when one is concerned with such external motives as proving something to an audience, has not.
"We will ruin your city, instincts set to kill motherfucker?"? Does this emotionally resonate with other listeners at all? I'll file this along with how inexplicably people listen to bankrupt – but, reportedly, sexy! – metal bands like Satyricon.
Then again I recognize that the ingressive, naive quality that I'm talking about is very hard for touring, 'serious' bands to keep a hold of. In the end it's not so much a moral judgment on my part, I don't condemn bands that aren't doing what I'd like them to do. It's more a value judgment on the end material itself. Just sounds safe and boring. Perhaps great Heavy Metal is very difficult to make a career out of and we should mainly look at beginning artists for vital music, or at least those that don't go near tours and the financial aspect of the metal industry.
Not a clue what this clown is prattling on about.
Helm.
The last album they did was bogus artsy fartsy hoo-ha. I'm glad to see them playing black metal again instead of chanting "We are nothing and stand for nothing." Do you think that resonates with listeners?
And that song "Hellish Overdose" is what most heavy metal lacks…..fun. It's a fucking party song. I guess Municipal Waste should be taken seriously then?
Their last album was beyond safe and controlled. What they really need to do is do an album that has the insanity of Katharsis's "VVorldVVithoutEnd".
i thought everything from this band was contrived.
Waddiah but why should we be happy that they're back to playing black metal? We're not obligated to listen to Nachtmystium either way. Why follow a band of minor improvements and marginal disappointments when you can listen to something more fulfilling? It's intriguing to me how with bands with lots of releases the critical reception is often more to do with how the new album compares to the ones before it and how it fits into their continuity and the industry context around it all, than it is about the material being vital or essential in itself.
Also actually yeah I think 'we are nothing we stand for nothing' resonates with a whole generation of young people. So at least the past record had an audience (though probably not a Heavy Metal one). I don't know about this EP, though.
I don't take Municipal Waste in any way, personally. Not the right person to ask.
wow, lots of words about what's simply a fun, four track EP. i don't see it as a "return to the roots" statement or any harbinger of what might be ahead – it's just a great little power-packed release.
and i love "Hellish Overdose" – it sounds even more like Motorhead than when they've covered "The Wolf" in the past!
I get an Amesoeurs vibe from the second clip.
^ yes.
That phrase resonates with a generation of kids like anything My Chemical Romance says. Real talk.
I'm glad to see them playing fun stuff, and throwing out all the noodling bullshit. A primitive metal approach produces some of the best out there.
If not a Municipal Waste fan, do yo enjoy SURF NICARAGUA!?!?!?!
There isn't any freethinking, innovation, anything like that. They're a totally boring band and this EP is just more boring pabulum for hipster music critics to practice their adjective-mongering on. Safe, sad, fake "black metal" for weak, passionless people. This review is terrible – clean out your ears and stop writing what you think people want to read.
I seriously dug Instinct: Decay and was really looking forward to Assassins when I heard some of the pre-vocal demos. But, I have to say that while the music has progressed tremendously, the vocals are utterly week. They sound somewhat better on this ep but still lack any of the tinny, distant evil that was present on prior albums. I think it may be true that Nachtmystium has graduated into irrelevant, hipster for the sake of hipster-dom.
Pepe, you are a silly willy. You got a kvlt and better black metal act?
I bet you do.
This band hasn't done anything for me live or recorded. The half-assed Candlemass rip-off cover art cements my opinion that they just aren't that interesting.