Review by Felix on June 12, 2023.

Mexican food is often too spicy for my bland Central European palate. But food for the ears is always welcome and therefore I am happy that I can review Nigrum’s full-length from 2022. First thought: their morbid opener 'Haunting Fields' – the 'Prologue' is just an intro – sounds like Watain without commercial intentions. Right from the beginning, I am listening to guitar tones which want to give an acoustic appearance to a bone-chilling cold and morbid thoughts are released naturally. The production adds an apocalyptic touch of total blackness. No doubt, this is an adequate beginning for a black metal output.

Nigrum’s first sign of life was published in 2016. Given this fact, it is no big surprise that Elevenfold Tail does not lack comparatively complex yet still clear song patterns. The relatively big number of breaks is no problem, because the artists have found ways to integrate them very cleverly. Thus, they present a pretty elaborate work, but fortunately this approach is not at the expense of spontaneity. The mega-killer 'Murderer, Dweller' delivers a prime example for the energy, explosiveness and fire of Elevenfold Tail. If the somersaulting beginning of this track fails to draw you into the album, you are immune against Nigrum’s vision of black metal. What a pity (for you).

By the way, due to whatever reasons the debut is ice-cold and blazing hot at the same time. This speaks for the production, which sounds clear enough to reflect the precision of the band and dirty enough to indicate the band’s belonging to the underground. A very good sound – much better than the quite strange arrangement of the songs. Two intermezzos directly one after the other are a sort of mood killer. Pleasing, however, that Nigrum immediately return to good form with 'Eleven Feathered Tempest' afterwards (although it does not fully reach the class of 'Murderer, Dweller'). Anyway, its calm break reveals a great atmosphere of melancholic eeriness, if such a thing exists. Additionally, there is another detail I like: Nigrum always manages to switch from merciless hammering to sprawling melodies and vice versa. They do it in a very organic and impressive way.

The hoarse and hateful voice battles the whole time with the guitars that want to gain control. A clear winner cannot be identified – maybe the listener? Be that as it may, Nigrum’s work does not beat around the bush. Black metal with a few elements of death metal is the name of the game and the band is not willing to make compromises. Instead, the haunting, violent melodies create exactly the controlled chaos the musicians were looking for. This does not mean that each and every song is an aural gift of the Gods. Furthermore, it takes more than just one round to decode the music. Nigrum did not overload their tracks with too many ideas, but their inner strength and their hatred creep slowly creep out of the boxes. And this, my dear friends of evil sounds, makes the album all the more interesting, especially for those of you who like formations like Spain’s Krossfyre and comparable hordes.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on November 8, 2023.

Death knocks on many doors, but how many of us would dare to open? If you wish to find out, stay tuned for today’s death-defying topic. The subject of this review will be covering a Venezuelan black metal one-man band Lvctvs and his third independent full-length album Sobredósis De Pensamiento Fúnebre, released on November 3rd, 2023. 

Everything begins with sounds of rainfall in pure somber autumn depression, until you suddenly hear the buzzsaw distorted guitars backed up with screeching and agonizing screams from the distance, where you will also hear some melancholic keyboards that contribute by adding an atmospheric flavor to this death-defying brew. On top of all the agony expressed through eerie guitar riffs and tormented vocals through every song, there are moments of catchy mid-tempo riffing and drumming, including occasional tremolo picking riffs and blast beats, which give the songs additional edge and dynamic songwriting. The only exception that this album has is the third track 'Heidegger O De La Muerte', which is two and a half minutes long and in terms of its execution in clean guitars and slow tempo drums, it’s a musical departure from the rest of the album but nonetheless a well-executed interlude that serves as a gateway to the closing track 'Me Hundo En Mi Ocaso'. The general songwriting is fairly simple depressive black metal with songs that last around 10 minutes (with the exception of the third track 'Heidegger O De La Muerte'), containing a variety of ideas that range from melancholic to horrifying. Although the output seems quite straightforward and easy to grasp, what is truly the highlight of this album and probably its quality work is the fact that every song is like a chapter that tells its own story, which slowly builds up all the way towards the moment where one embraces death. The lyrical theme of this album is a philosophical concept about death and the fact of thinking about that last moment that ends all existence, which is wonderfully presented with the macabre cover art. The sound production of this album is quite raw with its buzzsaw guitar sound that is backed up with distorted harsh screams, although I personally feel like the vocals could have been done a bit better in the overall mix/master process due to the added vocal distortion that is a bit over the top. 

Even though I am not a fan of DSBM in general, I quite liked this album’s execution from one song to another, especially since it feels like a 4-chapter story that does a good job at transcending that feeling of impending doom and the constant agonizing fear before dying. Lvctvs managed to combine emotion with atmosphere and the result of it is a work that really deserves to be noticed by DSBM fans all over the world. If you are indeed one brave soul that would open the door for the figure in black, then you will definitely like this album for its eerie macabre vibes mixed with melancholy. 

Rating: 8.1 out of 10