Album Reviews : Nachtmystium – The World We Left Behind

Psychedelic black metal band Nachtmystium, hailing from Illinois are easily one of the best bands in the genre and are now back after almost 14 years with their 7th album “The World We Left Behind”. Aptly named, this was to be their final album before they disbanded, but that changed when recently, front man, Blake Judd  stated his desire to keep the band going. To me, that was a major relief because Nachtmystium’s unique approach to black metal is indeed one of a kind and not something that can be duplicated easily.

This new album is definitely one that needs multiple listens and once you tune in to it, it captures the essence of Nachtmystium, whose style is typically categorized as experimental black metal. That’s exactly what they’ ve done with this one, really gone with an unorthodox sound, pulling together lots of different generic elements. Beginning with the trippy instrumental intro ‘Intrusion’ , the melodic tone filling your mind with dark, mysterious visuals which is followed by the more dynamic ‘Fireheart’, a track which forges through with a quicker tempo and an edgier sound, Judd’s blood-curdling deep growls making this a solid track. The eerie and powerful ‘Voyager’ comes next and takes the album’s sound in a rather different direction with an extremely catchy chorus, brilliant guitar work with lots of rhythmic riffing, of course those harsh droning vocals and with an electrifying solo that is proof enough of why this band is so huge.

The eight-minute ‘Into The Endless Abyss’ does just that and leads you into a mental abyss of brutality and exhibits perfectly the ‘psychedelic’ element to Nachtmystium’s music with lots of synths and that sweet atmospheric tone that gives you the shivers and the same can be said for the melodic ‘In The Absence of Existence ’which still maintains a certain heaviness but with a more soothing feel to the music. The lyrics on this track as well as on many of the others are quite audible if you really pay attention and shows the depth of emotion that’s gone into the composition as well as the lyrical themes. Title track ‘ The World We Left Behind’ is pretty intense, boasting some killer riffs and a great balance between the dark black metal and those harmonious synths that keep things interesting.‘Tear You Down’, furiously pummels out a series of aggressive riffs while ‘On The Other Side’ is definitely the standout track on this album, especially with it’s heavy punk-ish groove, brilliant pace and is proof enough of how intense this band can get!

‘Epitaph For A Dying Star’ declares the end of the album, but quite frankly only left me wanting to listen to more. A gloomy ballad that will make you want to sit in a corner and just keep thinking, it’s elegantly morose. The haunting ,deep hums amidst a background of ambient melodies really signify the sheer intensity of emotionally driven music on this album. Nachtmystium have definitely composed an album which will keep you engrossed but as I said, it is one that requires time to really take in what they’re playing. It’s an interesting culmination of dense melodic tunes with an experimental black metal feel. The progression of tracks is pretty great, kind of reminded me of when I’m listening to Pink Floyd, each track leads in to the next and unless you listen to it in order, you don’t really get the music. “The World We Left Behind” is certainly an album that must be listened to by any metal fan, solely because it is one that reflects the deepest emotions of the band, feelings that can only be conveyed through the eerily charming tunes of black metal. Definitely glad that this band isn’t splitting up!

Band: Nachtmystiym
Album: The World We Left Behind
Year: 2014
Genre: Experimental/Psychedelic black metal/Doom
Label: Century Media
Origin: USA

Tracklist:

Intrusion
Fireheart
Voyager
Into The Endless Abyss
In The Absence of Existence
The World We Left Behind
Tear You Down
On The Other Side
Epitaph For A Dying Star

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