Nocturnal - Violent Revenge
Now I'll be the first person to admit that black metal isn't my forte - even blackened thrash isn't something that I'm verly familiar with, making this review all the more difficult to write. However, Nocturnals second full-length "Violent Revenge" has come as somewhat of a surprise for me and should silence anyone who claims that all black metal involves norwegian clowns running around frostbitten forests wearing wizard hats and cloaks.
Musically speaking, "Violent Revenge" bears much more of a blackened thrash vibe than a full on black metal sound - comparisions to bands like Necrodeath and Desaster are unavoidable here, as these german ragers have an exceptionally and maybe suspiciously similar sound to Necrodeath. Even the similarities in the guitar tones found here and on Necrodeath's "Fragments of Insanity" are uncanny, but this matters little considering the fact that the aforemenioned Necrodeath album is a classic, so replicating its sound could potentially be a good thing in this instance - the riffs here are, whilst not overly memorable, pretty much textbook black metal riffing. Fast as hell comes to mind, guitarist Evil Avenger (I know, I winced too) has obviously done his homework and knows what black metal fans are after, and bassist Vomitor does a good job keeping up. Unlike Necrodeath however, there's next to no melodic material to be found here, which does leave a kind of stale taste in yur mouth since the album is always 'fast and brutal, fast and brutal'. Drummer Hellbastard sadly, is the least impressive member of the band here since all the way through he tends to stick to the same three beats - theres very little variation in the drums which is a disappointment when you look at some of these incredible death, black and thrash metal drummers that are doing their rounds these days. Despite that, the instuments all manage to come together quite nicely and whilst not sounding particularly awe-inspiring or radically different from most of the other black metal bands still knocking about, it's good enough to get the job done.
Vocalist Tyrannizer (what's with these stupid names?) is probably on his best form here, and although he sounds nearly IDENTICAL to ex-Necrodeath vocalist Ingo (seriously, identical in nearly every way) his voice makes the whole package complete - you get a lot of black metal vocalists who really don't fit with the music that's backing them up, but here, everything fits. Listen to 'Hellhunt', 'Atomic Warfare' or 'Swarm of Insects' for the best examples here. However, one major complaint about the vocals is that they're way too far forward in the mix. Couple that with a pretty piss-weak guitar tone and mixing job and you have an album that really doesn't cut it too well on the production front. Yes, I'm aware I compared the guitar tone to that of Necrodeaths "Fragments of Insanity", which I hil as a classic, but that was released in 1989 - 20 years before "Violent Revenge". So it seems that Noctunal have gone out of their way to make shit work of the production, possibly to make it sounds kvlt and grim... sorry, but no. Not in 2009.
What else is there to say really... I've written and re-writtenthis review so many times trying to really sum up what this album's all about, but I just don't get it. Maybe it's my unfamiliarity with the black metal scene, maybe it's just my personal standards for extreme music,but at the end of the day Nocturnal's "Violent Revenge" is just... satisfactory. It's not a bad album by a long way, and surprisingly it came across as a very enjoyable album, but Nocturnal need to work on their songwriting and try something different instead of following the Black Metal 101 Textbook step by step. The endless Necrodeath similarities with the tone, vocals etc. need to stop and sorting out the shoddy production would be of great help too, but all in all, a worthy listen. I'm certain that black metal fans will lap it up - Hell, a lot of people will find something to enjoy here, but only if you don't expect anything too new.
Musically speaking, "Violent Revenge" bears much more of a blackened thrash vibe than a full on black metal sound - comparisions to bands like Necrodeath and Desaster are unavoidable here, as these german ragers have an exceptionally and maybe suspiciously similar sound to Necrodeath. Even the similarities in the guitar tones found here and on Necrodeath's "Fragments of Insanity" are uncanny, but this matters little considering the fact that the aforemenioned Necrodeath album is a classic, so replicating its sound could potentially be a good thing in this instance - the riffs here are, whilst not overly memorable, pretty much textbook black metal riffing. Fast as hell comes to mind, guitarist Evil Avenger (I know, I winced too) has obviously done his homework and knows what black metal fans are after, and bassist Vomitor does a good job keeping up. Unlike Necrodeath however, there's next to no melodic material to be found here, which does leave a kind of stale taste in yur mouth since the album is always 'fast and brutal, fast and brutal'. Drummer Hellbastard sadly, is the least impressive member of the band here since all the way through he tends to stick to the same three beats - theres very little variation in the drums which is a disappointment when you look at some of these incredible death, black and thrash metal drummers that are doing their rounds these days. Despite that, the instuments all manage to come together quite nicely and whilst not sounding particularly awe-inspiring or radically different from most of the other black metal bands still knocking about, it's good enough to get the job done.
Vocalist Tyrannizer (what's with these stupid names?) is probably on his best form here, and although he sounds nearly IDENTICAL to ex-Necrodeath vocalist Ingo (seriously, identical in nearly every way) his voice makes the whole package complete - you get a lot of black metal vocalists who really don't fit with the music that's backing them up, but here, everything fits. Listen to 'Hellhunt', 'Atomic Warfare' or 'Swarm of Insects' for the best examples here. However, one major complaint about the vocals is that they're way too far forward in the mix. Couple that with a pretty piss-weak guitar tone and mixing job and you have an album that really doesn't cut it too well on the production front. Yes, I'm aware I compared the guitar tone to that of Necrodeaths "Fragments of Insanity", which I hil as a classic, but that was released in 1989 - 20 years before "Violent Revenge". So it seems that Noctunal have gone out of their way to make shit work of the production, possibly to make it sounds kvlt and grim... sorry, but no. Not in 2009.
What else is there to say really... I've written and re-writtenthis review so many times trying to really sum up what this album's all about, but I just don't get it. Maybe it's my unfamiliarity with the black metal scene, maybe it's just my personal standards for extreme music,but at the end of the day Nocturnal's "Violent Revenge" is just... satisfactory. It's not a bad album by a long way, and surprisingly it came across as a very enjoyable album, but Nocturnal need to work on their songwriting and try something different instead of following the Black Metal 101 Textbook step by step. The endless Necrodeath similarities with the tone, vocals etc. need to stop and sorting out the shoddy production would be of great help too, but all in all, a worthy listen. I'm certain that black metal fans will lap it up - Hell, a lot of people will find something to enjoy here, but only if you don't expect anything too new.
1. Hellhunt
2. Atomic Warfare
3. Slaughter Command
4. Death Is The Answer
5. Beast of Hades
6. Disgracer
7. Dark Rat Eyes
8. Swarm of Insects
9. Creation of the Possessed
10. Hells Forces
Displeased Records
Reviewer: Dave Ingram Jr.
Dec 26, 2009
Dec 26, 2009
Next review:
Coroner - Coroner
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