Elemental – Nightburn

If you though that Kêres plays bareboned and primitive Black Metal, let me introduce Elemental to you. Atvar, the main man behind not only Kêres but also Circle of Ouroborus, Rahu and Venus Star, had some more bareboned music left up his sleeve to unleash upon the world in the shape of the Elemental’s debut full-length ‘Nightburn’. The band does not come exactly out of thin air, but the two demos ‘Life and the First Moon’ and ‘When Death Comes Everything Moves’ were released under that same banner all the way back in 2016. Considering the usual steady release pace of Atvar’s other bands, that certainly can be called a proper hiatus.

Yet here is the debut, which musically fits rather well with some of the latest Kêres releases and in particular with the ‘The King Sleeps without Tears’ EP. Elemental does the name justice by sticking to an extremely bareboned brew of Black Metal and Punk. Indeed, besides the usual comparison to Slayer, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Beherit and Barathrum, a strong parallel with Ildjarn is obvious. A fair number of the tracks are only about a minute or two in length and are comprised of just about as many riffs that are laden with groove and devoid of complexity. If anything, the drum tempos are the major source of diversity. And by stripping down the music even further than with Atvar’s other bands, what remains is primitive and catchy Black Metal that is just a joy to behold.

Songs like ‘WhoEat’, ‘Hunt’ and ‘Nightburn!’ are short but sweet rocking tracks that those that appreciate Kêres will immediately embrace. And even the two lengthy outliers, ‘Need’ and ‘Senses Suddenly Alert’ fall in that category. The tracks may clock in at nearly 12 and eight minutes respectively, but don’t let that length fool you. By virtue of guitar feedback, both songs are chopped up into short riff-defined sections as well, essentially forming a collection of mini tracks under a unified title. And arguably, these songs contain the very best Elemental has to offer. You could argue that the true outliers on the album are the subsequent ‘Victor’ and ‘Aeolian’. These songs appear deprived of any guitar and solely revolve around a fat bass rumble, rattling drums and Atvar’s typical croaking bellows. The musical principles of Elemental stay upright however, reminding me of what Barathrum could have sounded like if they had gone in a more Punky and upbeat direction.

Atvar does what he does best on ‘Nightburn’, and that is making extremely primitive and catchy Black Metal. That makes Elemental a more simplistic and Punkier version of Kêres, devoid of any unnecessary frills or refinement. If you also think that sounds great, then get your hands on the LP, brought to you by Final Agony Records.