It has been two years since Nachtmystium released Addicts: Black Meddle Pt II, a CD that sought to meld grinding atmospheric black metal guitars and a few blast beats with some Trent Reznor styled keyboards and industrial sounds. Themed around drug addiction and peppered with odd musical (read keyboard) choices throughout, it was the first time I had heard Nachtmystium, and Ill admit it took me a bit to get through the entire album. Though it received a negative review here, the band has maintained a relatively strong fan base and has toured and played far and wide with some powerful artists, including Andrew W.K., Dark Fortress, Alcest, and Opeth, which therefore has allowed them to be exposed to a lot of people. I’ve met a few diehard fans in my travels and discourses, so it seems that Nachtmystium’s experimental efforts of combining black metal with something else has worked in some way.
Nachtmystium has been and can still be variously described as combining elements of black metal, psychedelic metal, experimental, atmospheric metal, and industrial. On Silencing Machine, with the shortest song being 4:28, drawn out riffs, omnipresent keyboard, and spats of blast beats are the highlights of the album. To create an atmosphere is clearly one of the objectives of Nachtmystium and by using droning psychedelic elements in conjunction with distorted vocals and guitars they’ve certainly created an atmosphere, though what type of atmosphere will be totally subject to the listeners perspective. For myself: not that impressive.
Something that bothered me through my first few listens through was that one song felt little different than the next, though typically, this is not a problem with atmospheric black metal. The constant unchanging artificial distortion present on the voice of Mike Judd, the vocalist and guitarist, as well as every other instrument lends to a lack ended up feeling uninspiring, and frankly, annoying. It seemed like they were trying to modernize the sound, and it didn’t quite fit with my expectations.
Keyboards are an element of black metal, and though the keyboards are quieter than on the album Addicts, they are still a bit jarring and omnipresent, giving a more industrial feel than anything related to black metal. Similarly, the drums are louder and more present than on previous releases, and though there are blast beats in a few songs, the album is mostly down tempoed, seeking to tentatively ease the listener into the realm of psychedelic music. Certainly listening to any of Nachtmystium’s music would be complemented by some shrooms, salvia, or anything else that could potentially lead you to suicidal thoughts. But I don’t know whether these substances would result in a better album.
The album commences strongly, with the opener, Dawn Over the Ruins of Jerusalem being the highlight of the album. Blast beats complemented by snarling/fuzzy (I would state overly so) bass and dissonant guitars give the immediate impression of ye olde black metal (the good kind) while the song structure moves evenly from part to part. Though the keyboards are less obnoxious than on previous releases, as aforementioned, some of the keyboard lines selected seem arbitrary and solely there to annoy the listener. The song following the opener, the namesake of the album, Silencing Machine, flows from the opener naturally, and easily makes it the second strongest song of the album. Thereafter, the black metal vibe I was getting reduces significantly, and though there are some trippy parts to songs, they feel a bit contrasting with the stronger/aggressive openers. The distortion used on every instrument including Judd’s voice becomes a bit numbing after the third song, losing the intensity that was present on the two opening songs.
In all, the album isn’t ranked amongst the most terrible of American black metal albums, but black metal fans would do well to save their money on something more worthy. If you’re looking for a goo
Staff Rating
2.00/5
User Rating
5/5
Husked.