The Taste of Victory

After leaving us with the barbaric battering of Nechrist, Nokturnal Mortum went silent for a few years. This phase of the band offered us a compilation of earlier recordings and a bunch of rereleases with swastikas plastered over the signature logo . However in 2003, the band decided to offer us a little sneak peak of what would become the rebirth of Nokturnal Mortum. And boy was it ever different.

Whereas Nechrist was recorded with a very treble-heavy mix, the bass is up front and center on The Taste of Victory. Rather than a blistering assault of blast beats and shrieks, this EP is much tamer; the band opted for epic, thudding folk metal epics rather than the raw black metal offerings of the previous album. Each instrument shines through the mix without competing for a chance in the spotlight though the bass is quite loud and muffled the guitars. Given the sheer rawness of Nechrist, it's nice to be able to hear everything without much difficulty.

There's actually a certain degree of "laid back-ness" to be found here. Varggoth's vocals are much lower, sounding a bit like a callback to Twilightfall at times. That's not to say there aren't any of his signature shrieks or yelps here, but they take a definite back step to the (admittedly) less impressive style he would adopt here and utilize to the present day. The songs themselves are much less frantic than on the previous two albums, and they have little reason not to be. The Taste of Victory (and Weltanschauung likewise) concern themselves not with telling tales of ritualistic sacrifices and the burning of Christian monuments. No, the music tells the tales of the Slavic life; serving as an ode of sorts to the bands home country of Ukraine.

The first three tracks are ones that would soon appear on the band's fourth full length release Мировоззрение (and later Weltanschauung). While both of the aforementioned albums have slightly different mixes, The Taste of Victory has a different one entirely. The 2004 and 2005 are a bit harsher and more abrasive in comparison to this one, which ultimately causes the tracks to lose a bit of their momentum. The Taste of Victory would eventually become the 12 minute epic that would close the band's fourth album, and this early version may not carry the same amount of "punch" that the album version would, but this is a small complaint. The song itself is one of the tracks Nokturnal Mortum ever composed. Sounding like a 40 ton T-84 traversing over war-torn lands with artillery fire in air, the song is a monolithic piece of heathen metal, and should be a mandatory listen for any fan of pagan black metal. Following The Taste of Victory is Weltanschauung; my personal least favorite Nokturnal Mortum song (excluding intros and non-metal interludes). However that statement serves as more of a testament to Varggoth's songwriting strengths rather than a detractor, seeing as it's still a pretty solid track. Although that doesn't change the fact that it is pretty standard and more often than not gets skipped. Out of the songs present on this EP, The New Era of Swords will give you the most accurate idea of what to expect on Weltanschauung. An energetic number, The New Era of Swords paints vivid images of swordplay and pagan glory; using Nokturnal Mortum's new-found folk approach to it's advantage. But alas, what of the final track?

As the Steel Eagle into Golden Svarga clocks in at a whopping 15 minutes; officially making it the longest Nokturnal Mortum track to date. It was recorded with intention of appearing on a split with Polish band Wojnar that never happened, so it was placed here. That's not to say it was shoehorned in, as it actually fits quite well with the other music. Sounding like a spiritual successor to Return of the Vampire Lord, this song serves as a "goodbye" of sorts to the old Nokturnal Mortum, and hints at the new folkier direction that the band would pursue. It's an excellent track and really makes this EP worth checking out, more so than the other material.

Overall, The Taste of Victory's purpose is to serve as a "taste" of what was to come the following year. Nowadays, it doesn't have much of a purpose, and isn't an essential release. If you aren't a diehard fan of the band, find As the Steel Eagle into Golden Svarga on YouTube and give it a listen. Though if you don't mind spending $15 and can get past the nazi garbage plastered all over the logo, this makes for an enjoyable listen from time to time.

This new Nokturnal Mortum mCD was sure a surprise to me the first time I popped it in my stereo. I had just finished listening to NeChrist and then I put this in. The first thing that stuck out was the almost identical sound this has to new Graveland material. Long songs with just 3 or 4 riffs that are drawn out and repeated over and over. Not like Darkthrone or Burzum though. This release is also a lot folkier than their previous albums. The keyboards aren't as present which makes the folk instruments come alive in the mix. Varggoth's vocals are different from the last few albums, but he sings in the way he did on the first demo Twilightfall, with a very raspy, almost light death growl. The drums use a lot of fast double bass but nothing like Munruthel's drum skills. He is sorely missed in NM. No blast beats at all in this record, so if you're looking for brutal BM with tons of blasts then this isn't for you.

I really like that little folk bit at the beginning of Weltanschauung. It's catchy as hell. The rest of the song is only decent. The New Era of Swords is faster and better. It is catchy, with great folk instruments and Varggoth's vocals aren't bad. Taste of Victory is alright, but too long for me, which wouldn't be a problem but it's also kinda boring too. The last track, As the Steel Eagle Into Golden Svarga is the best on here. It was recorded in 2001 and sounds like older NM with solos and the just the overall old school NM feel. It's the longest on here but I don't find it boring at all.

If you're looking at this hoping for it to sound like NeChrist or any of their other records, then you'll be sorely upset. It is NOTHING like any of the previous releases. The only similarity would be the vocals, which are the way Varggoth did em in the earliest days of NM. Other than that, there is no resemblance at all. No blast beats, no solos, no super fast songs etc. Also don't buy this if you are offended by radical political beliefs and the like, as NM have gone NS now. It was present on NeChrist in the song "The Call of Aryan Spirit" but nothing like this now. There's no "kill all the jews, heil Hitler" bullshit though just "oh we the Aryan race are better than you all" type stuff. Anyway if you want to hear a different Nokturnal Mortum and aren't afraid to give it a chance, then you may as well buy this. If you want another NeChrist or To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire, then you're never going to get that again.

Wow, when I bought the album and saw it was an MCD, I thought first that it was just another mini cd, with short tracks, and a poor effort by the band.
This was not seen on Nokturnal Mortum, The Taste of Victoy, the sound is jsut great, you can listen to all 5 instruments and vocals with no problem, also it is clean and pure.

Weltanschuung- This Song starts with a strange noise, actually it is the reason that I gave it a 97 and not a 100, I thought I was hearing electronical music, after I listened the entrance of Kjanz Varggoth I realized what a great album I just bought, the keyboards this time are not as important as in Lunar Poetry or Goat Horns, but they still are very welcomed, and also they give an ambient effect.

The New Era of Swords- This song is the faster and rawer in the whole album, but at the same time it is the folkier one, the speciallity of Nokturnal Mortum.
The Drums are very imponent, they give a sensation of powerful music.
The vocals this time have a small variety, something we could clearly hear in Twilightfall.

The Taste Of Victory- This song is GREAT, it is my favourite, it is a new complete change for Nokturnal Mortum, this is more like Melancholical.
It starts with a guitar, making a simple but interesting rythm, then the drums follow it in a very original way, something that has been normal for Munruthel.
The vocals are very clean, I think it is cool for one song, but I wouldnt like full-lenght album to have clean vocals.

As the Steel Eagle into Golden Svarga- This song starts with a 3 minute introduction, of bass and guitars, then suddenly appears a new whole different rythm, a more brutal one, with keyboards on backgrounds making it sound very original, then an acoustic guitar appears, giving it the only thing it was missing.
Some people think Nokturnal Mortum is bad because it is Nazi, I know that may be stupid, but the music is what matters, the only way it could affect u if you are jew and know them, if u arent, SHUT THE HELL UP.
get this album

Now this isn't as bad as the other reviewer said, but it is far from another masterpiece like Lunar Poetry, which was a fuckin demo of all things! Nokturnal Mortum are beginning to get heavily into nazism, as evidence by their new logo, which has removed the goat head and replaced it with 4, count em 4 swastikas. These guys must be really serious about this nazi bullshit. Although I like the music, I don't agree with their views.

Now to the music. It is actually really well played. Complicated guitar riffs with raspy vocals and fast drums. Nice keyboard work throughout and the bass can sometimes be audible, as with other NM releases. The best song is without a doubt "As Steel Eagle Into Golden Svarga", which is an great fuckin epic song to end this mCD. Word has it that they are working on a new full length, which I am looking forward to. Hopefully they will retain the sound that they had on previous albums, cause one thing I liked was the folk stuff, and this doesn't really have it.

I recommend Goat Horns, Lunar Poetry, or To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire first, then maybe this, although NeChrist was really good. Just download the album instead of using your money to buy it.