NACHTMYSTIUM’S SILENCING MACHINE IS (MOSTLY) F*CKIN’ BLACK METAL
Standing out in any genre can be challenging, and this is not at all different in the realm of black metal. Battling a cacophony of blast beats, unbridled distortion, and blood curdling cries can be a taxing undertaking if a band wants to make significant waves. Still, Nachtmystium has time and again shown that black metal is a many splendored thing, continuously stretching the walls of the genre to not only make waves, but create an undertow, nearly dragging their competition to drown in the darkened depths. Given their history of breaking ground within the spectrum, many had high hopes for their latest release, Silencing Machine, and the promise that this album would be “a fuckin’ black metal record.” No worries, that promise was indeed kept; but for their fans, is that a good, bad, or merely questionable thing?
For one, there is no lack of heart or brutal aggression; plenty of that being hammered out all the way through. There’s no skimping on production, either (to state the obvious). True to the words of Blake Judd, this is indeed a black metal album. Does it incorporate aspects of death rock or industrial and/or aspects in-between, like the Nachtmystium of albums past? Not as much. I mean, it’s there, absolutely — there’s no need to put synthesizers and the like up on milk cartons — it’s just more subdued. Interestingly, it seems that all that jazzy stuff is saved for the latter half of the album. The track “Give Me the Grave” has an undeniable, and enjoyable, dirty rock’n’roll feel, while another, “Decimation, Annihilation”, is drenched in synth and, well… frankly, not quite as enjoyable.
As for the opening tracks, there’s where you’ll find your trove of tr00ness. Out of the gate is the onslaught that is “Dawn Over the Ruins of Jerusalem.” Tracks like this — angry, boisterous, and caked in blood — are the bones of the album. Immediately after comes the title track, which just as wonderfully abrasive and venomous. The true gem, though, comes in the form of “I Wait in Hell,” a generously blackened post-rock track seething with all the blasphemous goodness (sinfulness?) you’d expect from a track with such a title.
In short: while perhaps not exactly what the listener will be expecting, Silencing Machine does not disappoint. As a follow up to the band’s more experimental recordings, and certainly to those who look forward to that aspect of a Nachtmystium release, sure, it could potentially disappoint. But taken as its own entity, it’s a solid, polished black metal album, with bits and pieces harkening to the more unusual aspects of the Nachtmystium’s music. True blue, die-hard fans, again, may not be as stoked on it, but give it a chance. While Silencing Machine may not be breaking new ground for the Nachtmystium we’ve grown to adore, it’s certainly not doing them a disservice.
(3 1/2 out of 5 horns)
-Kellhammer
