One of the 2025 albums that has given me a lot of anxiety since a maniac from the VM-Underground circle informed me of its release is ‘Eternal Nightmare’ by the German cult band Pest. This damned entity is known in the abysmal circles of the underground for its very personal way of composing Black Metal, so much so that it could even be categorised as a style, namely ‘The True Pest Black Metal’. Another quite remarkable detail is that with their previous album, dating back more than a decade and aptly titled ‘Buried’, they intended to bury the band after their drummer and founder, Mrok, died in 2011. ‘Buried’ was meant to be the tombstone on his grave; however, apparently the dead man continued to have torturous nightmares in his burial place. In this cursed year, they have set out to blow our minds with another epiphany of blasphemy.
The work begins with an instrumental called ‘A Lullaby to…’ that sounds like a sped-up, remastered soundtrack from some old movie, before opening the tombs to the title track, ‘Eternal Nightmares’. This track slowly creeps in before accelerating and unleashing black violence. One difference from the 2014 album, at least in this track, is that everything is at a consistent volume. Previously, Mr. Blasphemy’s legendary vocals were a bit louder. Here, they are at the same level, although to the ear it feels like his screams are louder than the rest of the instruments. It is a fairly short track that leaves you thirsting for evil, but as a prelude, it fulfils its infernal mission. ‘Dr Crow’ is the next track, and with that title, one might expect something crazy. What we get here is a monument to mid-tempo music with lacerating riffs and vocals violating the ether with their meticulous desperation. At 1:30, they throw everything to the wind with brilliant drum work featuring double hits on the hi-hat injected between legato guitar riffs. After a few dead seconds of progress, they accelerate with other quite effective riffs and repeat the verses and the excerpt with that damn double hit on the hi-hat that will haunt me tonight, just like in my nightmares.
The track ‘Light Fades’ lives up to its name, opening its rotten lap with a slow, melancholic, and atmospheric litany. The guitar riffs seem to moan deep memories buried in time and dust, which are crowned with emotive passages amidst rhythmic shifts. In the track’s middle, a wall of guitars rises with all its overwhelming and hypnotic power, a track that feels like a farewell to earthly life, achieved in the most somber way possible. ‘Winds of Death’ belongs to the column of the tree of death. This track begins with tremolo-picked guitars whose arabesque humming gives it that special touch we have tasted in past German Black Metal works like the old Nargaroth, Moonblood, or Frostkrieg. With its rhythmic cadence, intense melodic riffs, and deranged phrasing, the chorus of ‘Winds of Death’ will leave you breathless. It has been stuck in my head for several days, aided by that special ending which makes it one of my favourites on the album.
The countdown continues with ‘Running in Rage’, which maintains the same frenetic pace as the rest of the album with repetitive and masterful riffs. It is worth noting that time seems to have stood still for Pest. This album could easily have been released in 2015 following ‘Buried’, but a decade and a year have passed, and the flame remains undiminished. Considering what years of inactivity do to musicians and bands in general, and considering that history is full of cases where the bubble bursts after so many years (there is always a ‘but’, and this ‘but’ is a positive one), with this album, Pest shouts to us that the ideological flame and the forces of darkness continue to burn brightly!
The seventh track, ‘Night’s Embrace’, eases off the gas for several seconds before resuming the onslaught with piercing screams. The drums decapitate everything in their path amidst an amalgamation of tremolo riffs with various variations. Around the middle of ‘Night’s Embrace’, a cut emerges, and almost whispered voices point to the gallows where the other half of the track will be executed with an effective formula of pattern repetition; the more than 6 minutes are transgressed. As the end approaches, ‘The Gates’ presents a slightly more varied formula in terms of rhythms, but with the same intensity and variation of mesmerising riffs. This track, like the previous ones, boasts a masterclass in riffs that do not differ much from what Atax and Scum showcased on the band’s earlier albums. However, I believe there is some contribution from the new guitarist, Brandt, which I cannot quite pinpoint. With the two original members of Pest, the rhythmic work is more than guaranteed. To conclude the album, an instrumental titled ‘Eternal Choir’ bids farewell to the work in a fitting manner. Personally, I hope the band does not place the tombstone on their grave again, as this has been a bestial return to the war. Although, if they do decide to end the days of Pest, ‘Eternal Nightmare’ is a very solemn way to do so.
I add some lines written on Bandcamp: ‘For Pest, innovation means retrogression. This new album was still fully recorded and mixed by the band themselves in their rehearsal room, just as it was 25 years ago. It doesn’t get more authentic than this: relive their Eternal Nightmares’. Take the hammer and chisel and place them on the cold marble when you wish to depart from this plane!
