Nightwalker : "The Eternal Flame of Death'

 This German black metal project returns to the abyss from which it first emerged by dropping this ep that proves black metal does not have to be a flurry of blast beats to be black, you just need to be dark and dissonant enough to capture the evil. The pace picks up four and a half minutes into the song, to include some blast beats that bubble up from things, but they have already laid the creepy groundwork to give a contrast. I am not against blast beats, they are just a tool to use as needed not to build your entire sound from.

They fall into this trap a little on the second song which is also the title track as they rage before slowing down to become more depressive and introspective as they let the chords ring out as the vocals croak with desperation. There is an organic feel to the production though the mix gives it the 90s feel, as the guitar sometimes echoes out from the shadows. The drums at times fall behind the guitar and there could always stand to be more bass in the mix for these kinds of albums. 

The last song works off more of an early second wave of black metal vibe, reminding me most of Mayhem musically, though the vocals tend to occupy the kind of bleak place the vocals of Inquisition croak from. The song works more off the throb than not, while I appreciate this kind of atmosphere the dynamics do not feel as urgent as they could. I will give this album an 8, it is not the most inspired but I like the creepy path they take things down. This is being released by Amor Fati, so it seems like we are touching on all the go-to Black Metal record labels this month.

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