Postmortem

The second full length by Kazakh black/death metal band Nocturnal Art, this one having the cover I think looks the coolest. Coming off the heels of the last album I already had an idea of what this might be, and it was correct for the most part, but did notice it seemed more refined and in my opinion better than the last one. This album has stuck in my head more than the first but less than the next so talking aside let's start talking about the album.

This album starts and immediately has a vibe similar to Строки к плачущей Леди on the last record, at least with the more depressive type riffing. It however still continues the 'Nocturnal Art' style of songwriting with solos in the middle and grooves, plus the intro/outro samples or instrument segments. The next song also continues this pattern with a slower intro, solo in the middle, and a general tone as well as segments similar to the first track - this was a more standout track and already tells me the album was off to a better start. The song В Холодных Объятиях Смерти is a good example of what the 'average Nocturnal Art' song sounds like which is a positive judging it was another standout on the album, other tracks such as Песнь Кал pay homage in sound to the 2nd track on the album and Погребение sounds similar to the song Le triumphe des ténèbres on the last album - this is without the solo in the middle and with a more melodic and peaceful outro. Виселичное Поле Шестнадцати Девственниц is an interesting song as it differs from the traditional sound this band provides as it sounds more generically Black Metal but with that same unique sound - this is notable due to the next album so just keep it in mind. The last two songs include a piano instrumental as well as what I remember being another instrumental this time with a combination of harsh feedback, depressive riffs, and then a hint of an 'epic' sounding segment thrown in there.

The vocals are more or less similar to the last with no huge standout moments to my knowledge, I did note down their performance in the second song which is the title track most likely due to their feature being more notable then on the opening track. They are once again solid. The instruments on this one are very similar to the last in practice, though their sound is different. There is still a mix of slow, groovy, melodic, and some more traditional riffs - as well as solos which feature throughout the album here and there. There are more headbanging segments on this album and even feature moments such as on Песнь Кали and Сад мёртвых цветов II where the drums have moments worthy enough I wrote them down.

This album on a whole was good and a slightly better entry then the last one. It stays true to the bands style as it plays around with specific segments which repeat throughout the songs but don't get too repetitive and or boring. This seems to be a transition sort of record, especially with the next review I have to do, but I believe it accomplished this well. I would say this is a decent album to check out though you might be missing something if you don't hear their debut.

Liked tracks: All
Standout tracks: Postmortem and В Холодных Объятиях Смерти