Nyktalgia

It has been an established for a long time, the fact that Nyktalgia is a pioneering band in the sub-genre of depressive or suicidal black metal. Long droning riffs, reminiscent of so many hateful and wistful memories, agonizing shrieks akin to a wolf's howl of distress and Burzum-esque, pounding drums hell-bent on crushing your soul and dreams, and minimal yet omnipresent bass following the guitar's path. That's a perfect way to describe in short this effort.

Unfortunately, this German horde did not live long enough to put out more material in order to indulge us in the darkest corners of their thoughts, thus leaving us with two full-length masterpieces in order to delve into depression's wasteland. The most overt fact in this album is the band's attempt in taking the listener on an emotional roller coaster. One moment a fast, mesmerizing riff, and one moment you're listening to some slower-tempo black metal evoking the most miserable feelings you have stored within you.

After listening to this album, the listener remains convoluted in a deep tangle of different ideas, spawned by the masterful manipulation of the atmosphere which the band members create with their winding music. The lyrics on this album really make you think too. After going through them, you're left all alone trying to figure out the whole point in living, unless their lyrics already manage to drag you down the deepest misanthropic, nihilistic depths that exist. The arbitrary nature of humanity, the ineptitude of humans to truly understand each other, the universe's randomness, all these abstract thoughts are all touched upon in this hunk of solid work.

The songs on this album are long. Damned long. The length is specifically tailored as far as I could deduce, to the time the listener requires to truly digest the emotions and feelings the musicians are trying to linger through their heads and hearts. The tormented screams on "Cold Void" and "Misere Nobis" do an amazing job in creating an overall atmosphere of beating solitude and apathy. If you don't feel like screaming your mind out of pure, sheer misery after listening to this album, then this is not really your piece of cake.

The production on this album is extremely good. Not in the sense of Dimmu Borgir sterile, but in the mid-era Darkthrone kind of good. Every instrument has its own compartment in the music, except for the bass, because for example, it can't be heard that quite well on "Lamento Larmoyant". I suggest that if you're into the faster, yet emotional side of depressive black metal, and are tired of the countless mimics that are constantly emerging, then this album is definitely for you.