Naga : "Void Cult Rising"

I really loved "Inanimate" so have high hopes for this one. It's more uptempo and feral than the last album, more feral but not as dark. There is a warmer mix than I remember the . The blackened touches are sparse, but the riffs are still fucking mean. The second song finds a more morose tone spreading. The vocals are not in the rasped snarl, but more of a throaty yell typical of sludge. It gets almost into a more Isis like territory as the song progresses. "Bedim the Sun" is marginally more melancholy. The guitars leave room for the raspy vocals and eventually they do build up into a nasty blasty section. I am not sure that it is the best thing for the song.

The black metal thing for them is weird. I guess blackened sludge could be used on the previous album this is too warm to really be black metal.  I like black metal, I think a little blackness with these guys goes a long way and maybe using the atmospheric dissonance of black metal instead of the blast beats might be a better investment. "Thanatou" almost has a rock n roll feel to how it rambles . There are some darker touches of atmosphere that also helps add a wider range of sonic color to the album.. There is certainly a greater sense of sonic heaviness to this song.  They ride this throb for sometime before blasting back off. This album is certainly at least from a guitar stand point more melodic than the previous one. The guitar tones change getting more post rock like for " Pyre".  It jams off into being more of a drone.

The album ends with the almost fourteen  minute title track. Things get really melodic . It breaks down into a clean guitar tone. The vocals seem to have more purpose on this song and are less of an after thought. At times this kind of scream vocals seems more like an obligation than adding to the song. The last riff they jam on with beyond epic. I will round this one up to a 9 as it is very well done.   If you like raw sludge with a touch of darkness then these guys are still for you.