Nocturnal March

Black metal is like medicine. It must be bitter, otherwise it is ineffective. Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult are no beginners and the first tones of "Nocturnal March" make clear that bitterness does not come off badly on their second full-length. Yet things even get better, DNS have fully understood the spirit of the shadowy genre. On the one hand, they trigger a hurricane of iron sounds. This is black metal the way it was meant to be, relentless, furious and martial. On the other hand, the band rules its self-made inferno. Things get never out of hand and the listener is not at risk to get lost in a chaotic noise. With that said, I am fine with the album's general direction and now let's have a look at the details.

I have read somewhere that Onielar is the "Black Metal Goddess", but neither I think that she gives herself this name nor does she sound like a Goddess, because some of her male colleagues would be happy if they could create the same masculine vehemence. Well, she also does not sound like a God, because her throaty screaming does not reach the highest quality level. It's more or less the usual black metal style, but it is positive that she gives all that she has got. Her performance does not lack passion, although there remains room for improvement in terms of expressiveness. Be that as it may, there was actually no reason to put two instrumentals on the album. Especially in view of these superfluous sound collages that add no value to the output, the decision for the instrumentals remains questionable. Black metal can be vehement or atmospheric, but these cuts are just gaping holes of emptiness. The funeral bell in "The Dead Hate the Living" creates more atmosphere than these two total failures.

The regular tracks do not suffer from comparable defects. Massive guitar leads and stormy drums call for war and I would not be surprised if the band was thinking of albums such as "Opus Nocturne" or "Heaven Shall Burn..." while writing the tracks for this work. Despite the relatively high number of tempo changes, the songs have a natural flow and combine violence and musical skills in a good way. Whenever the band gives full speed, and this happens a lot of times, the music borders on insanity and it feels like a black metal catharsis. Their way of proceeding results in fanatic tracks like "Wicher za górami", "Chronicler of Chaos" and "Scaffold Salvation". The girl and the guys avoid repetitive structures, their highest velocity is only a mere stone's throw away from blast beats and no piece suffers from a lack of pressure. Unfortunately, there are no earworm parts that stick in the listener's mind for hours. However, we all know that you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs and the very brutal form of black metal excludes catchiness in most cases.

Good music should be produced by competent people and "Nocturnal March" is equipped with an appropriate mix. The album sounds direct, fresh and aggressive. There is nothing that disturbs the overall impression and the same goes for each and every of the regular tracks. The meticulously designed title track, simultaneously the closer, crowns the output with its militaristic marching drum. Those who like maturely performed black metal in its pure form will like this album, even if they do not love medicine very much.

So what's in a name? When one thinks of black metal more than likely they think Bathory, Norway, second wave, etc and while there have been some good German black metal bands, one in particular stands out for me...and not just because of the name! Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult are probably my favorite black metal band right now. This band plays a raw black metal but with a better sound quality and, in my opinion, a bit more style and class....they're fuckin' killer! And not only are they a great band, they are unique in that their guitarist and vocalist is a female...and she can hold her own up against any male black metal vocalist out there. But it's not just that fact that makes this band stands out, it's the songs.

Nocturnal March is their second full length released in July of 2004 and from the very start this album is relentless. The opener is a track called "Wicher Za Gamori" and is sung in Polish, the guitarist and frontwoman Onielar's native tongue. This is a raw black metal song with massive riffs and fast as lightening tempo. The guitars here are right up front on this wonderfully produced album and if I were to make any comparison here it would be Tsjuder, though I think this band is slightly better. There is a cool little acoustic interlude in the middle of the song that, in other songs, might seem out of place but seems to work here. This song just kicks your ass all over the place and it doesn't stop there. This only sets you up for the rest of the album.

The remainder of the songs are in English and are just as fast and with as much riffing as the opener. Songs like "Chronicler of Chaos", "The Dead Hate the Living", and "Scaffold Salvation" are fast as Hel with blasts and tremolo riffs but also with some classic metal riffing thrown in to show that there is variety to this band. I think that is why this band stands out. There are many dimensions to these songs and it makes this album all the more enjoyable. You also have a song like "Spectral Runlets of Tulwod" that is fast but not just blasting throwing a bit of melody into the mix. The drummer here is sick as he just pummels you with his blasts and double bass drumming while keeping the rest of the band tight. The vocals are actually very good and it's not too often that you have a female doing black metal vocals this well. Once you hear these songs you can see why this band is my favorite black metal band.

There are a couple of interlude tracks here that maybe could have been left off the album but all in all this is black metal done right. The title track is the final song on the album and is more of the same...relentless, pummeling back metal. The song is slightly more epic than the rest clocking in at 7:13 it also includes some timpani and even some marching! All in all, this album is full of riffs and blasts but with a touch of melody too. I just found this band about six months ago and I am glad I did. This is an album that is essential for any black metal fan.


http://elitistmetalhead.blogspot.com/

Must I mention 1st off that the only other BM band with a woman on vocals that I knew until very recently is Tuman, from Hungary. Not to say that they are bad nor anything but this album by DNS is by far superior to Transilvanian Dreams and plenty of other useless BM records released in the last 10 years. THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO MEAN I THINK TUMAN IS A BAD BAND BY ANY MEANS, TRANSILVANIAN DREAMS REMAINS A GREAT ALBUM IN MY BOOK.

This album is top notch, tight, creative and varied BM of the highest order. Not that they are prog fags, they’re just excellent musicians. All the songs are totally different yet they all blend together, the same with all the riffs in every song. Most are totally different yet they blend and mix with each other perfectly without sacrificing ANY of the perfectly crafted atmospheres in the record. Some are standard BM riffs, some have that edge of melody typical of European BM, some are mellow per say and they are all aggressive and pissed. Whoever writes the riffs in the band is an excellent song writer, not to mention that their drummer is totally insane, a genius with his instrument, he even makes backwards drumming riffs with the kick drums in several sections throughout the album, not to mention the fills and the perfect tone and volume on the drum kit in the mix, even the reverb effect in the tombs aids to the epic atmosphere. The bass is very audiable, unlike in most BM records. The vocals are banshee-like (on steroids) reverb and eco ridden wailing rasps provided by Onielar, a woman who looks more like a possessed corpse than a singer of a rock band of any type, great vocal work, matter of fact I wish I could wail like she does.

The whole album is filled with a aura of youth ridden angst, “longing /yearning for” like when in a catatonic/cathartic state when you stop reasoning and become an animal acting on instinct to find what you crave (comparable to a junkie looking for his drug of choice when the dealer is dry).

By far the best melody in the album is the 1st riff to “The Dead Hate the Living”, it’s mesmerizing, spellbinding. Too bad it only lasts for 6 cycles, I think this should be the main riff in the song. It appears again for another 6 cycles towards the end of the song, with the intention, I would think, of re-starting the song as if from the beginning but in a shortened way.

The title track is the album closer. It’s as emotive as the rest of the album, varied riffs that in some cases only appear once in the song. The chorus section is composed of war-like drums with soft wailing string instruments and Onielar chanting “Nocturnal March” more or less every 6 cycles, this section is long, just to return to a short varied riff section only to return again to the chorus section but this time with a sample of a host of marching boots within which the instruments and vocals fade slowly, after they fade completely the host of boots start fading tool, as if the army of hell was sent out to our earthly plane to retrieve the horde of lunatics that managed to escape from hell’s insane asylum.

I recommend this record to anyone passionately into passionate dynamic BM. This band is actually becoming one of my favorite German bands along with Nargaroth and Katharsis. Very cool stuff. You won’t regret it.

When you first put this album on, it sounds like a typical raw black metal band. Quasi-kvlt haunting keyboard intro, ending abruptly with blastbeats and rapidly strummed gloom chords. After the effects of the very beginning of the song wear off, the listener is able to listen more clearly. At this point, it should be obvious that this is hardly a darkthrone clone. The music is very progressive, each song consisting of a multitude of parts, many of which never repeat more than once. The singing is passionate, hateful, and bleak. The drumming is relentless (in fact, if you turn up the volume while in an enclosed space, it will sound as if a tremelo effect has been placed on the whole album due to the constant blast beats). The whole album is loaded with pretty melodies, none of which were played with a keyboard. And, best of all, you can tell the difference between songs! Each song is almost completely different, meaning there is a wide range of moods from song to song. Some are melancholic, some are fast and brutal, others are war songs. This album is a testament to how powerful black metal can be while still remaining true.