Requiem Tenebrae

Isn't it nice? Similar to the previous work, "Requiem Tenebrae" also bears its name rightly, because it was the last album that Nehёmah gave to the world, or rather handed over for 15 € per copy. Regardless of this, it should be noted that friends of stormy, icy black metal may have to overcome initial difficulties when enjoying this disc from 2005. After a genre-typical, calm and (not particularly) haunting intro, the third track also relies exclusively on atmosphere. At least, this is a piece carried by melancholy guitars and wailing background keyboards and not just a sound gimmick. I find it quite nice, but actually I appreciate black art primarily for its diabolical unbridledness. Fortunately, however, the black metal brand core is also considered on "Requiem Tenebrae".

"The Great Old Ones" throws itself at the listener with the force of a ravenous predator. The drums whip the guitars before them until they almost overtake themselves in their own rampage. Singer, songwriter and mastermind Corven dishes out a can of sheer hate and his raw voice matches it quite nicely. Especially since it also sounds tortured in the slow part of the track.... No question, here are excellent seven minutes of pure stuff – recommended for imitation! And if the lyrics in the booklet would not be lost in a completely illegible scribble, surely someone would have already copied them the lyrics of this much too unknown classic for M-A. By the way, “In the Mist of Orion’s Sword” has a very similar configuration – and it reaches almost the high quality level of “The Great Old Ones”.

Overall, the French show their affection for creepy, atmospheric pieces. "The Elder Gods Awakening" lives to a large extent from its apocalyptic density, until the end is once again raged with brute force. At the latest with this title even the uninitiated listener notices that the production does justice to all facets of the artistic work of the trio. The rough sections captivate by their cruelty, the slow ones by their density and both in equal measure by their intensity. Technical details are not identifiable in the somewhat mushy sound, but that doesn't matter at all. This is black metal, no prog rock, math core or any other high tech nonsense. All in all, "Requiem tenebrae" adorns itself with a high degree of variety. In "Conscience in Evil" the good old Hellhammer shine through in some morbid licks, "Through the Dark Nebula" partially relies on echoes of Limbonic Art, only in a rougher variant. Finally, the most epic song with almost 12 minutes playing time integrates a kind of chimes into the gloomy basic scenario. Since the song titles are already expressive and set the mood for the music, I can find almost nothing wrong with the album, except for the fact that it was Nehёmah's requiem.

I will not be so short about this release…

Nehëmah is a french band, but this doesn’t sound like typical French Black Metal at all. ‘Requiem Tenebrae’ sounds more like it had been released in Norway sometime in the mid-nineties, not only sound-wise, but also quality-wise. It seems to me that this album is supposed to be a tribute to the legendary Norwegian bands that rekindled the flame of Black Metal with a series of timeless classic albums at that time; and I strongly believe that if it had been released in 1993, it would be counted among these classics today.

Nehëmah have been accused of being a Darkthrone rip-off, and while there certainly is some Darkthrone-worshipping to be found in several tracks here (and well-done too, complete with a couple of dirty ‘Hellhammerish’ riffs) and on their two previous albums; I have to say that overall Nehëmah still have their own sound and are much more than merely a Darkthrone-copy.

The guitars sound sufficiently raw and put forth one quality riff after another. The bass is clearly audible in the mix, which is both unusual and very positive. Corvens vocals display a lot of variation, and they always sound dedicated and hateful. He really screams out his black soul! Although Dargon is an excellent drummer and does a great performance on this album (as always), his drums sound a bit too triggered and sterile here for my taste, and it does harm the atmosphere a little in some parts. But this is the only complaint I can make about this album. Keyboards are used sparsely but effectively, just like they should. The music is well balanced between fast, mid-tempo and some slower parts. ‘Requiem Tenebrae’ has that special dark nocturnal feel, you know the one a Black Metal album worthy of that style should have.

The highlight on this album is the highly ambient and hypnotic ‘Taken away by the torn blackshroud’: the repetitive, drone-like guitars, the spoken-word samples, the subtle keyboards, the monotonous drumming and the acoustics form a thick wall of sound culminating in melancholic, almost ‘fragile’ sounding melodies that bring forth a depressive yet strangely comforting atmosphere. Listen to this track, close your eyes and you can dream yourself away to another world. It lasts for nearly 12 minutes, and it should have continued for another 12 minutes in my opinion. If this track can be compared to anything, then it would have to be the first three compositions on Burzums ‘Filosofem’; although it doesn’t quite reach the genius of these hymns.

Another track that’s worth a more elaborate analysis is the last one, ‘Through the dark Nebula’. It takes us to the sound and style Immortal had on ‘Battles in the North’: the guitars sound even colder than on the previous tracks, the drumming is extremely fast, the mood is at its grimmest and even Corven sounds like a carbon-copy of Abbath here. Midway through the track though, Corven surprises us with some clean vocals (and does this very well, reminiscent of Enslaveds Grutle Kjellson), then the music slows down and some keyboards come in to create a malign, conjuring aura. Towards the end of the track, the pace gets fast again, and finally it culminates in an apocalyptic finale that sets a worthy conclusion to this fantastic album.

Just like Nehëmahs two other albums, I can absolutely recommend ‘Requiem Tenebrae’ to anybody seriously interested in High Quality Black Metal.