Nycticorax - Anima Tenebrarum
Hailing from the relative unknown of Lativa, Riga, Nycticorax (or Nightraven) unleashes their third full length album of Vampyric Black Metal. Despite the cheesy corpsepaint and album cover that makes the album look like it comes off as a bad Siebenburgen album, the overall sound is a raw, slightly symphonic cacophony that features plenty of fast moments for the average Black Metal fan to enjoy. The main downside to this is the language barrier; many of the songs performed here will not be understood by the average listeners, so the reliance on the sound is more important than ever. After an opening dramatic, symphonic piece with spoken word sections, the music begins with "Заклинание." It is slow, churning, and raw- merging Doom and Black Metal together with basic elements- and features raw, snarling vocals that definitely are not quite polished, but transfer the emotion of the music easily, if not painfully. "I Hate You" is equally slow and grim to listen to, but mixes things up a bit by tossing in some acoustic sections which definitely brings a folksy feel to the music rather than just stereotypical fast, screeching raw power.
Faster tracks like "True Life" are more in the vein of Melodic Black Metal and cast away the slower, morose parts. Even the vocals pick up a bit but they still feel a bit separated from the music/ instruments due to their quality. The relevance to Siebenburgen becomes closer here- except there are no female vocals included. "Dum Spiro" pauses the chaos a bit for a brief instrumental of acoustic guitar and violin which definitely draws out the folk elements easily; sections like these spread throughout the entire album could have made it a long stronger. The closing "Дым погребальных огней" picks the pace back up for final fast track, chock full of rhythm, but overall listeners are left with an impression of a few good pieces here and there, but overall the music doesn't stand out for Nycticorax on a monumental level due to its use of a base instruments and styles within the subgenres of Vampyric Black Metal.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvR_vtOCd2A[/embed]
Faster tracks like "True Life" are more in the vein of Melodic Black Metal and cast away the slower, morose parts. Even the vocals pick up a bit but they still feel a bit separated from the music/ instruments due to their quality. The relevance to Siebenburgen becomes closer here- except there are no female vocals included. "Dum Spiro" pauses the chaos a bit for a brief instrumental of acoustic guitar and violin which definitely draws out the folk elements easily; sections like these spread throughout the entire album could have made it a long stronger. The closing "Дым погребальных огней" picks the pace back up for final fast track, chock full of rhythm, but overall listeners are left with an impression of a few good pieces here and there, but overall the music doesn't stand out for Nycticorax on a monumental level due to its use of a base instruments and styles within the subgenres of Vampyric Black Metal.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvR_vtOCd2A[/embed]
1. Intro (Deconsecrate)
2. Заклинание
3. Вампиры
4. Легион
5. I Hate You
6. Rise
7. True Life
8. Amduscias
9. Dum Spiro
10. Дым погребальных огней
2. Заклинание
3. Вампиры
4. Легион
5. I Hate You
6. Rise
7. True Life
8. Amduscias
9. Dum Spiro
10. Дым погребальных огней
