Black metal has really found its' way to the furthest corners of the Earth. Well, maybe except for Antarctica, which is arguably the grimmest place on Earth. With its' roots in Northern Europe it's amazing to see a genre like that travel around the globe to South America, Alaska, Russia, Japan, Australia and even Malaysia like Neftaraka.
Before I even started listening to Neftaraka's "Morts" album I noticed the completely over the top awesome artwork. Many metal albums have really shitty artwork, but Morts is one of the coolest covers I've ever seen. It would look glorious on 12" vinyl.
As I listened to the album I realized that this would probably take a few listens before I'd get into it. And I was right, it did take a couple of sittings before I could really appreciate the moods set by the band with their Scandinavian-style black metal. By taking inspiration from such legendary acts such as Darkthrone and Burzum they've chosen som tough names to live up to, and while their riffs may not match that of Transilvanian Hunger or Lost Wisdom they've taken an age old recipe and made it their own.
But let's not make it more than it is: Classic black metal with a tiny bit of raw and depressive elements once in a while just to mix things up a little. They've even incorporated the close-to-mandatory dark ambient piece in the song Anttarra Solitude, which, despite my words, is actually a pretty damn solid track.
This goes for the whole album. It's strong black metal and it makes for a satisfying listening experience with a ton of good riffs and a near-perfect production that satiates the thirst for both filthy black metal and black metal of a more modern kind.
Neftaraka have released a throng of demos and splits and even an album in their 16 year long carreer and Morts certainly shows that the band have a lot of experience in the unholy arts of black metal. That said it sounds like the best songs are gathered in the first half of the album, which makes for a small lack of flow, but this is easily overlooked because Morts as a whole is really good. 8/10 guitars.
Tracklist:
1. Rituale
2. Sufferance
3. Morbid
4. Legions (Silverian Kvlt)
5. Pandemonium
6. F.O.A.D.A.
7. Anttarra Solitude
8. Morts
NEFTARAKA official site
Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records official site
No comments:
Post a Comment