Nightfell : "Never Comes the Storm"

Here is a band whose first album, really caught my ear and I have been following them ever since. They have never really let me down, though what they do can vary album to album as they continue to  juggled both sides of the death doom equation. More often than not they fall on the death metal side, but they are one of the few death doom bands who truly capture the mournful doom sound the right way while maintaining their aggression. The opening track of their fourth album displays a greatly matured song writing approach brining a wider range of dynamics to a band whose skills in this area already typically outclassed their peers. 

Perhaps their writing is not as prolific and is a matter of quality over quantity, as there are more pieces in the two-and-a-half-minute range than actual songs, these are more like interlude or intro pieces. Out of six songs only three of them are actual songs. he second of these songs is the title track. It is a more straightforward death metal attack. It starts off with more of a up-tempo though not blasting pace. The vocals are a powerful growl. I like this guys' growl he really does it right, rather than just defaulting to something because he can not sing. The middle section of this song simmers down into a slower pulse. It  picks back up after this section with renewed aggression.   

They take more chances on the last song. It is more doom like in many ways, the gang chanted vocals are certainly different, and it can not be said the band is not capable of summing a very large sound. There is a very doomy riff which is cool and it does seem like the mood they are in for this song,. They take a weird turn in the middle of the song and allowed a sample from what seems to be a horror movie take over the narrative .Then when the song comes out of this it goes back into a variation of the gang chant vocal riff. It sounds like they break out bag pipes and everything at the end here which is going overboard unless you are Korn I guess, though I guess there are bag pipes often played at funerals . I will give this a 9 for the songs they do bring to the table are solid as usual, I just wish this was a full length instead of an ep when you consider the actual songs presented.    

Nightfell :" a Sanity Deranged"

The first song is an odd mix of  death doom. It starts off more doom and builds into death metal as the pace picks up. Things get darker and have more emotion on the second song. It might have the buzz of tremolo guitar it is closer to death metal than black metal. There is no shortage of grim atmosphere. The double bass steers the song into the death metal side of this band. There is a thicker atmosphere and more of a mournful mood to "To the Flame". So far I think these album is heavier than the first two, but with that comes less of that crushing chug they once carried. The songs are also more droney. monk chants buried behind the distortion and the builds are more subtle, it might be a heavier record, but it is less explosive.

The descent into doom continues of " The Swallowing of Flies". There is not as much that sets this song part from other bands that do this sort of thing, and believe me in 2019 there are a ton of them. They do pick up the pace and double bass comes thundering in. They end the album with the title track which is another lurking doom song. I do like the fact it is dark and depressing. The vocals are also a nastier growl. This makes them harder to under stand than previous album, but also more of a texture and less adhering to the rules of songs, which can work for or against them. Three and half minutes into the song and it picks up into a throbbing gallop. This creates more of a black metal feel.The drums continue to drive the song faster and harder. Everyone else slowly responds in kind.  

  There have been a massive influx of death doom bands, it's hard to say these guys are jumping on a band wagon when they have been at it for some time. They are leaning into the doom side more , and I doubt Portland is a vacuum where they are unaware of what is going on in the bigger metal world. I likes this album. It is easy to listen to. I loses a little of it's steam as it progresses , but the strong start makes it memorable . I will give it an 8.5. If you are a fan of this band you should like this unless you are spent on death doom. This album comes out Sept 13th on 20 Buck Spin.  

Nightfell : "Darkness Evermore"

 The bar is raised pretty high for this one as their debut album"the Living Ever Mourn" really killed it. They get things started on more of a doomy note which is fine with me. The same woefully melodic throb still flows through the veins of this beast. The guitars are masterfully layered and production wise this album sounds even better than their first. the song speeds up in a way other bands should take note as it is so organic and fluid you almost don't notice. It gets to close to a death metal churn and stays melodic even with the mid range rasp of the vocals calling out in the thick of things. And then other guitar melodies gets woven into it. The song writing has stepped up to the challenge. I would otherwise balk at opening the album with a ten minute song , but they know how to make every second count.

One of the album's more straight forward songs follows as the band goes into an more upbeat chug on "Cleansing" which  they drop back down at the mid way point into some creepy atmosphere. The guitar continued to be well layered. This song is a very melodic take on blackened death metal as the band continues to trample over genre lines with this album and just makes metal that encompasses every dark corner. They churn out some wonderfully dark death metal that still propelled by melodic sensibilites on "Rebirth". This is not just another band ripping off Entombed or Incantation, but a fresher take on death metal with the blackened elements not coming off contrived. They do give you a breather at the midway point again, employing strings and clean guitar tones before hammering the nails into a doomier passage that swells back into the barrage.

The more deliberatly paced "Collapsed" takes an unexpected break down that builds the song in a sonic swell, underneath which the drums drive into a more death metal direction. The song gallops into the darkened landscape with classic metal bravado. They once again delivered the goods, I would say this go round there is less doom and more death metal at the albums core. This is done in the most tasteful manner and would still appeal to fans of doom who like hearty doses of death metal mixed in. I'll give this one a 9.5, based off my initial listen and see how it grows on me. This comes out Sept. 11th on 20 Buck Spin. 

Saturnalia Temple : " To the Other"

On the Swedish band's second full-length they  indulge in a brief smattering of ambiance before stomping in with a blackened doom feel that at times recalls some of Darkthrone's black n roll moments if they were in collision with Celtic Frost. It hangs on the main riff while the vocalist rants. The vocals have a crazed quality to them and while gritty are not really growled or screamed, but I wouldn't say they are sung. The title track has a melodic guitar riff that drones on with a cleaner tone and a Kyuss styled solo drifting over it's mid-tempo desert doom as the vocals bellow in the background. Fuzzed out feedback dirties the edges of the song. The more straight forward "Snow of Reason" is not as compelling as it chugs ahead a perhaps with  a greater momentum , but lacks the hints of melody until the be section groove to make the song as compelling.

While past-members of the band  have included on of the guitarists from Dead Congregation this duo writes best these droning marches through the graveyard the they layer with an almost Hawkwind like sonic element. The first song that really strikes me as black metal is " Crowned with Seven" which has very Slayer influenced drumming, more so in the cymbal work than an overkill of double bass. they close out the album on a creepy note with "Void". I like some of the single not guitar work and the bludgeoning power behind song's like "Black Sea of Power" the simplicity of these songs can be both the blessing and the curse.

This band doesn't waste your time. Live Night Fell's Tim Call is behind the kit which would have been interesting to hear his take on these songs in the studio. If you are looking for blackened doom that has a stoner twist and nary a blast beat then this might just be the album you are looking for. I appreciate what is going on here I'll round it up to an 8, but don't think I would personally get much play out of something this rough around the edges, but they might be more your speed to click below to decide.

The Top Ten Metal Albums of 2014 .... so far

Metal Sucks has put out their progress report card for the year, and gods know the sort of  mall metal those guys are pushing, with exception of our friend Grim Kim . So it is time look at whats the best of real metal, according to my Last FM, this is based off of what has been in the heaviest rotation on the ole iPod so here we go.

10- Black Anvil's "Hail Death"

It is losing a little steam with me now , but when it came out this slab of hooky black thrash with the hardcore leanings the band tried to deny got quite a few spins.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/04/black-anvil-hail-death.html

9- Young and In the Way -  'When Life Comes to Death"-

Not sure if this one will make the purge for the road trip to the beach this week, but it's dark metallic hardcore tinged with black metal, that is darker nastier and heavier than the Black Anvil album, often making me think of what Converge might sound like if they were less spastic and into black metal.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/young-and-in-way-when-life-comes-to.html

8- Hexis-" Abalam"-

This might be the heaviest album of the year. That doesn't mean it's the most well written, but to be as heavy as it is there is something there in the songs to have earned this many listens or I was a lot angrier earlier in the year.
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/hexis-abalam.html

7-Kampfar -"Dejevelmakt"

Behemoth might have made it on many lessor lists, this album hit the place for me that Behemoth use to when they were worth half a shit.
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/kampfar-djevelmakt.html



6- Cynic -"Kindly Bent to Free Us"

Since coming out of the closet, you have to rethink the meaning of the album title. This almost isn't metal , but it is well written and well played and likely to see a return for the beach trip.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/cynic-kindly-bent-to-free-us.html

5- Alaskan - "Despair Erosion Loss"

The vocals are what hinder this album for me , but there are some great riffs and dynamics other wise that had me returning to it. Not sure if this will make it to the top ten of the year or not.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/01/alaskan-despair-erosion-loss.html

4-Night Fell- the Living Ever Mourn

So here we get into the following four bands that have the staying power to make the end of the year list. This hits all the right dark spots for me to have staying power.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/night-fell-living-ever-mourn.html

3-Mayhem- Esoteric Warfare

The best "real" black metal album thus far as the two after this one only have elements or used to be black metal. Mayhem keeps it as true as fuck with out sounding shit , nor are they afraid to try new things.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/mayhemesoteric-warfare.html



2- Hail Spirit Noir-"Oi Magoi"

This one was crazy in all the right ways. Taking what a band like Opeth does and black metalling it up a t bit without resorting to all the tired old tricks of the trade.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/02/hail-spirit-noir-oi-magoi.html

1- Agalloch-"the Serpent and the Sphere"

The mood of this album has earned it a lot of listens and I am a fan of their past work so was eager to hear this one.  

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/05/agallochthe-serpent-and-sphere.html