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Radigost > Nocturne > Reviews
Radigost - Nocturne

Strange Russian Mysticism - 80%

Razakel, November 19th, 2009

I know very little about Radigost, but I do know that I like their music, so what else matters? They play a very atmospheric approach to symphonic extreme metal with varied vocals and a heavy focus on piano/keyboard melodies. The band apparently formed in 1994 and have since released three full length albums, only the first of which I am familiar with. Their 1999 debut, Nocturne, is a dark, melodic endeavour with a very cold, gloomy atmosphere throughout.

The obligatory dismal intro, Full Moon, is actually an atmospheric highlight, consisting of a grim piano melody, ominous spoken passages, and various wind effects. The Cry of Desolate Souls opens with a brilliant melodious section which continues when vocalist, Svar, enters with high pitched shrieks. The song progresses into more typical black metal sections with faster riffs and even some blastbeats, but sometimes I find these moments detract from the softer sections of the music. It’s not that they’re performed poorly, it’s just that, for the most part, I don’t think they add anything to the songs. They're just gaps in between other melodies. While this doesn’t necessarily ruin the songs, it makes some of them seem longer than they should be. For example, I think The Cry of the Desolate Souls would be more effective at around four minutes rather than over six. Nevertheless, some songs end up working perfectly like the fantastic Winter Dusk. It’s a nice mid paced track with very memorable guitar riffs and a decent amount of clean sections. I also like how it mostly features Svar’s death growls, which I much prefer to his black metal shrieks. His black shrieks vaguely remind me of Protector from Summoning, whom I’m a very big fan of, but for the most part I don’t think they gel with the music as well as the death growls. The combination of gloomy piano melodies, slow clean guitar, and throaty death growls in Winter Dusk actually remind me Amorphis’ Tales From The Thousand Lakes album, which is one of my favourites. I would safely call this the best song on Nocturne. Other memorable moments on the album include the fantastic intro to Paths of Chronos; the keyboards and spoken section is just brilliant. Outcast is a diverse song, but works mostly the whole way through. Some of the faster sections could have been shortened, but I really like the interlude in the middle.

Nocturne is a consistently quality album but I think it would benefit from having a few minutes shaved off. The intro is excellent, but I don’t think the midway interlude nor the outro add much to the big picture. Also, as I mentioned in the bulk of my review, some of the songs have some unnecessary sections which make them drag a bit. Nevertheless, the musicianship is always excellent and satisfyingly creative.

If you happened to come across this album, pick it up. It’s not a masterpiece, but I can’t think of another album in my collection much like it. I know I compared it to Tales in my review but, for the most part, I wouldn’t call both albums very similar. Radigost’s Nocturne is a very interesting listen which I recommend for a black winter day.