Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Nachtmystium
Title
Nachtmystium
Type
LP/EP
Company
Battle Kommand
YOR
2003
Style
Black
4/15/2007 - Review by: Etiam
Nachtmystium - Nachtmystium - 2003 - Battle Kommand Records

Track Listing
1. The Glorious Moment
2. Cold Tormentor (I've Become)
3. Come Forth, Devastation
4. Embrace Red Horizon
5. Call Of The Ancient
6. Gaze Upon Heaven In Flames (Judas Iscariot Cover)
Listening to Nachtmystium’s self-titled EP from 2003, it is hard to make the connection between its harsh traditional approach to black metal and the interpretive cross-section of ‘Instinct: Decay’ that would cause such a stir in 2006. One would at first imagine that two albums so closely released would display more similar characteristics, but considering that Nachtmystium were only formed in 2000 this EP is relatively early in their discography, and so the disparity is a credible one.

That being said, there are moments where the more adventuresome tendencies that would eventually surface do shine through the monochromatic buzz of Darkthrone-worship, which make ‘Nachtmystium’ an interesting reference point, if not all that much of a success on its own. For example, the tinny, ethereal solo that closes out ‘Come Forth, Devastation’ sounds like a prototype for similar passages found on ‘Instinct: Decay’, most notably ‘A Seed For Suffering’ and ‘Eternal Ground’.

It is generally a good rule-of-thumb not to refer to future works when reviewing a band’s discography in retrograde, but in Nachtmystium’s atypical case, as with a few others (e.g. Manes, Ulver), it is merited. Listening to those deeper, more textured moments (such as the aforementioned ‘Come Forth, Devastation’) as a theme to be developed instead of simply an exception to the two-riff, buzzsaw rule makes this EP worth exploring. Otherwise, ‘Nachtmystium’ would be an almost completely derivative exercise, as opposed to its current status as a prelude of passing interest.

The fact remains, though, that aside from these brief moments it is a disappointingly average release that tapers off rather quickly. If anything, the mediocre quality of this EP could validate the experimentation that was to come to some particularly harsh traditionalists who have voiced displeasure. Yet, this is unlikely—a black metal band on tour with Daughters and Pelican is a quandary indeed. In summary, ‘Nachtmystium’ is a release for stringent followers of the band and musical analysts. Beyond these niche groups, it has very limited appeal.

Postscript: The continued fascination of American black metal bands with Judas Iscariot covers is a mystery. At least half of that prolific entity’s releases are as uninspired and flat as the bands that cover it. Nachtmystium’s version of ‘Gaze Upon Heaven In Flames’ is significantly faster than the original, but uninspired riffing is uninspired riffing, no matter its tempo.



--Etiam 04.07.07
  • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
    2 :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: NACHTMYSTIUM
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
Assassins: Black Meddle Pt 1
2008
Century Media
Raising Iron8/22/2008
4.5
Doomsday Derelicts
2009
Battle Kommand
Raising Iron7/2/2009
4
Instinct: Decay
2006
Battle Kommand
Etiam10/3/2006
3
Nachtmystium
2003
Battle Kommand
Etiam4/15/2007
2

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: NACHTMYSTIUM
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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