Return of the Vampire Lord / Marble Moon

The opening track here is obviously the crown jewel of this release; nothing even comes close to matching up to it, and 'Return Of The Vampire Lord' itself is possibly stronger than anything on 'Goat Horns'. It has that sort of intensely poppy sense of melody fused with just enough black metal abrasiveness that makes it a landmark song in Nokturnal Mortum's career. The basic melody which all others in the song stem from is flawless, the epitome of Nokturnal Mortum using synths to carry melodies while using guitars in a power metallish regard to provide supporting chords. It's incredible in its simplicity; the best thing I can say about it is that at eleven and a half minutes it never feels even remotely like it's too long. The next two tracks don't fair as well, though 'Cristaline Darkness' is the better of the two, with more memorable melodies and a better overall execution than 'Mi Agama Khaz Mifisto', a throwaway track which no one throws on a best-of Nokturnal Mortum list.

'Marble Moon', on the other hand, is intensely useless, a hodgepodge of random demo tracks, alternate versions, and covers, with the only item of any real value being the Graveland cover, and Nokturnal Mortum can't exactly take the credit for that since the song itself is so good it would be nigh impossible to fuck it up. The real issue with 'Marble Moon' isn't just that it's hastily assembled and has no flow and is entirely pointless, but because it showcases the lamest, most folk-infused side of the band which is fortunately absent in their career until 'NeChrist'. The little neoclassical ambient tracks are worthless and plain, the demo tracks are pointless, and most of the covers (barring Graveland's) are listless renditions of the originals that end up having no point at all.

Can I just get 'Return Of The Vampire Lord' instead of having another eight useless tracks tacked on to inflate the running time? The first EP really stands on its own, head and shoulders above most Nokturnal Mortum material, but I almost always turn it off as the last few strains of 'Cristaline Darkness' are exiting my speakers. I recommend you listen to it in much the same way; yeah, listen to 'Marble Moon' a few times to embrace how shitty it is, but then at least you have the first three tracks to make this a worthwhile investment since you'll never find the original anywhere.