Light of a Dead Star

Nehёmah from France was a band that split up after three albums. Its legacy has some great moments, but I cannot hide the feeling that their musical competence never reached the level of their spirituality. The black-and-white aesthetics, the minimalistic booklet, the pure design of their material and the lyrics always indicated greater things to come than those that the band really offered. “Light of a Dead Star” was a good debut, no less, but also no more.

Why does the album not completely work? Well, first of all, the band has no feeling for compactness. I don’t say that “Misty Swamps” lacks substance, but it would have been a great idea to bring it to an end after seven or eight minutes. The real configuration (the song crosses the twelve-minutes-mark) is simply too long and the following atmospheric outro also does not add much value to the full-length. (By the way, its name “…in the Heat of the Flames” is misleading, because to me it rather sounds like it’s raining during the complete outro, if I am not mistaken. But maybe I should ignore such details.) But intro and outro aside, we have six songs that result in a playtime of 49 minutes and I can only say that these technical parameters are rather a handicap than an appetizer. However, the first regular song (simultaneously the title track) causes a vehement Norway-influenced storm which illustrates that Nehёmah consists of men of conviction. Despite the well-known icy guitar leads, the horde tries to score with originality. The bass guitar gets room to play a prominent role, but its lines are overly simple and pretty boring. Anyway, the title track features more or less pure violence.

The dignified “Nehёmah in Vuelva Infernum” shows the other side of the band. A dark riff carries the entire song. It creeps maliciously onwards, aware of its own inner strength and nightly aura. This kind of doomy black metal depends crucially on the quality of its riffing and fortunately, the French quartet does everything right here. Even the rather unspectacular drumming contributes to the overwhelming appearance of the song. So let the sinister vibes take you away… and realize that the strong and mid-harsh “Across the Landscape” also holds a fantastic atmospheric instrumental part where the usual soundscape is supported by mystical keyboard sounds. Thus, it’s only logical that “In October Nightshades” does not intend to stand in the shadows of these highlights. It offers a nice mix of pretty revenous wrath and wicked, mid-paced meanness.

A lot of things on this debut point in the right direction. The mostly guttural vocals, the general musical understanding that brings some spooky melodies to light, the technical skills, the adequately blurred yet somewhat ghostly production – all these elements work. Nevertheless, the full-length does not breathe the air at the top of the mountain. A few parts have become too excessive and due to this, they lose some percent of their power. But don’t get me wrong - if you like to dig out a black metal work from France without 10.000 musical experiments, this one could be the right thing for you.

I've been letting this one sink in, to make sure it was the unqualified masterpiece it sounded like at first. I was surprised by Nehemah's latest album "Requiem Tenebrae" earlier this year, and I was very pleased to be able to get ahold of their first two albums, which are hard to find in this country. I was prepared for this, their debut from 2002, to be not as good as the awesome "Requiem", but I was just floored by the quality of this release, which has to be one of the very best Black Metal albums I have ever heard.

Take Darkthrone's "Under A Funeral Moon", twist in some of Mayhem's "Der Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" and just a twitch of Emperor's "In The Nightide Eclipse" and you'd be pretty damned close to this album's sound, but that would be doing this fine CD a disservice, as there is a lot more going on here than just a band being derivative of the greats of their genre. Yes, Nehemah are firmly in the vein of old-school Black Metal on this release, but they play with genuine conviction, and they inject their own sense of melody, atmosphere, and a true epic feel into their classic approach. This is Black Metal that is defined and informed by the old Norwegian tradition, but not limited by it, and Nehemah have taken the sound of the old masters and made something individual with it.

First, they got the guitar tone perfect – this is a raw, hateful snarl of a sound that is clear enough to hear every riff yet still sounds like a frozen buzzsaw. It cuts like a blade – sharp and deadly. The mix is raw, and definitely a BM sound, but all the instruments can be heard and the brutal nature of the recording sounds deliberate, not inept, as so often happens with this kind of music.

Second, these are just great songs. Yes, the first and last tracks are ambient bits with keys and the sound of roaring flames, but they are not too long, and the six songs you get are still over 50 minutes of music. The title track is a fast and furious bit of Mayhem homage, and yet with that Nehemah touch of melody and atmosphere that is really hard to describe. This band just never gets boring, and just when you think a song is played out they launch into a slower, doomy section or kick out a whole new cascade of riffs. "Nehemah In Vulva Infernum" is the best tune here, with a haunting and hypnotic main riff that will never come out of your head. But all these songs are memorable, powerful, and distinct, with no blurring together. Even the 11-minute "Misty Swamps" gets neither repetitive, nor dull.

So while this is a more conventional BM album than this year's "Requiem Tenebrae", not as melodic or moody, it is still a triumph of old-school Black metal rulage. Those who are bowing at the altars of the increasingly sad Mayhem, Darkthrone and Satyricon are missing out on one band who are carrying the torch of the classic Black Metal sound while managing not to simply rehash old ideas. Nehemah just flat-out rule, and anyone interested in the very best Black Metal has to offer should check them out right away. An underrated band and an overlooked classic.

Originally written for www.metalcrypt.com

Ah, the debut of the French Black Metal band Nehëmah. I can be really short about this release; this album kills!

The intro is too long. Mankind wouldn't exist without fire, but hearing a witch being burned for about three minutes is rather long. Then 'Light of a Dead Star' sets in, a killer song at high speed. Judging from this song, you can hear this band is heavily influenced by Darkthrone. The compositions are put together skilfully, with some subtle keyboards or calm acousitc parts. This sets Nehëmah apart from the thousand-and-one Darkthrone clones.

The guitars sound very raw and brutal, especially in 'I Will Sleep with the Dragon', which contains one fucking epic riff. The drums are tight and precise, only Corven's vocals slightly irritate me at times, when he sounds a bit like a crow...

With bands like Deathspell Omega, Nehëmah gives a fresh impulse in the French Black Metal scene.