Ay, again I’m arriving a bit late to the party here. But since ‘Captive In The Breath Of Life’ is such a great record, I still decided to give this some well-deserved attention. Besides, if I am well informed, the album should get its vinyl treatment not all too long from now, so this could as well be seen as a reminder to keep an eye on that release.
‘Captive In The Breath Of Life’ is the successor of the debut album from 2022, after two demos and a split tape with Daemonlust ‘The Holy Law In Total Ruin’ was a proper showcase of what these Finns had up their sleeves. That first album was indeed a solid record, filled to the brim with promising riffs and ideas. Maybe not the most sophisticated piece of Black Metal out there, or even from the ever-thriving Finnish Black Metal scene, but surely it showed a lot of potential.
And, frankly, that potential is fully materialized on this sophomore recording. Although with almost 50 minutes of the clock the album is a bit on the long side, the album is completely stuffed with excellent riffs and splendid song writing. As the cover already implies, you are being served with all the right genre aesthetics: it is cold, melancholic and surprisingly melodic as well. Clearly based on the cornerstones of typical Finnish Black Metal, it also has a strong connection to the more riff-driven Norwegian counterparts. Drilling things down it could very well be said that it takes the best out of the traditions of both Northern countries, subsequently keeping the middle between Sargeist, Gorgoroth, Armagedda and Taake.
The musical recipe is definitely one that has been tried and tested over the years, evidently harkening back to the mid 90’s to the early 00’s, but it is the clear and rather clean production that is the icing on the cake. It allows the music to sound powerful and sharp, but it retains that raw edge to keep its gnarly bite. With this great feel for atmosphere it gains on credibility, the authenticity oozes off and surely propels the rocking tracks to greater heights.
No originality here, but that clearly was never the intention. Instead, Nocturnal Sorcery are cashing in on the potential that was already showing on the previous recordings. Speaking of which, Out Of The Dungeon recently released a compilation CD with all pre-album recordings of the band. So, to ease the waiting for the for that vinyl edition of ‘Captive In The Breath Of Life’ a bit, you might as well pick that one up in the meantime.
