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Nachash – Eschaton Magicks

nachash – eschaton magicks

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There is no need to explain to the association between Norway and Black Metal to anyone with even a vague understanding of Metal. What is more interesting is when a band defies the expectation of what sounds will be unleashed on an unsuspecting listener. Such is the case of Nachash, a relatively new act with only an EP and album under their belt prior to this year. What made Nachash stand out from the very beginning was their desire to explore other types of Black Metal beyond the conventional second wave that their country pioneered. In fact, the band do not refer themselves this way, but rather “Deathly Black Metal”, a nod to how Nachash seamlessly incorporate elements of others strands of metal into their act and wonderfully illustrated in their new album ‘Eschaton Magicks’.

If you are unfamiliar with Nachash’s previous outputs (I highly recommend their debut), then perhaps their brand of Black Metal will come as a bit of a shock. As I mentioned previously, this is not Norwegian Black Metal is any sense of the word. There is no extensive use of tremolo picked riffs, furious blast beats or even shrieking vocals. Instead, much of Nachash’s music feels like all the best parts of Master’s Hammer, Mortuary Drape, the Hellenic scene and others thrown in a blender and never completely feeling like one of their own. The riffs are very thrashy and fast paced, but carefully layered with melody and even certain guitar hooks that wouldn’t feel too out of place on a Heavy Metal album. The drumming has that primitive and punkish feeling that made early Darkthrone so entrancing. The vocal approach is more akin to Death Metal, ghastly and menacing growls that are drenched in a coat of reverb. This eclectic mix allows the band to weave a sound that irradiates a dark and mystifying atmosphere to explore occult themes of necromancy and death.

What also feels so distinctive about Nachash’s brand of Black Metal is the atmosphere. While so much of Black Metal seems hellbent on transporting us to a frozen and gelid landscape, the feeling of ‘Eschaton Magick’ is one of warmth and humidity – something it borrows from the Hellenic scene. But we shouldn’t confuse warmth with feelings of cuddliness or affection. Instead, it is the heat of a room filled with candles and overbearing smell of incense and sulphur, crafting a ritualistic feeling. There’s this sensation of grandeur in each song with the way the melodies hit you, building up to this colossal release that is best evidenced in tracks like ‘The Scythewielder’, ‘The Empyrean Graves’ or the excellent finisher – ‘Wherein the Devil Dwell’.

Nachash’s long slumber since their previous album has served its purpose. Building upon the foundations of what made ‘Phantasmal Triunity’ such a phenomenal record, ‘Eschaton Magicks’ is another wonderful creation alongside the works of other bands like Malokarpatan, Faustcoven and Negative Plane that seek to explore the other sounds of the Black Metal underground before the Norwegian second wave scene became the de facto reference for many when it came to the genre.

Nachash

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