Nachtmystium - Instinct: Decay (CD)

All Music Guide

Chicago's Nachtmystium have been haunting the dank basements and batfilled belfries of America's burgeoning black metal scene since 1998, but like most of their countrymen, their works were generally too indebted to Scandinavian sources to earn them credentials to contend on the worldwide stage. That may be about to change with 2006's Instinct: Decay, an album that generally stays true to the group's intentionally primal and lofi black metal roots, while simultaneously plunging over the abyss of progressive experiment. Virtually all of its tracks are fueled by the same sort of questing fearlessness that extreme metal fans have come to expect from contemporary artists like Norway's Enslaved and Sweden's Opeth: uncompromising, heavy as fuck, but streaked by multiple moods, dynamic density and unexpected twists. Following the brief introductory piece "Instinct," "A Seed for Suffering" launches the album on traditionally pounding, raging, and desolate BM brutality; yet it suddenly cracks o...pen like an egg to reveal an evocative acoustic bridge worthy of Portland folkmetal stars Agalloch, then files a coda of renewed violence with melodic nuances which impart an emotion rarely heard in BM: hope Subsequent notable cuts include "Chosen by no One," which alternates frenetic riffing with groovier sections also streaked with nearsymphonic layers of synthesizer melodies; "Eternal Ground," which includes a memorably musical guitar solo and ending riffs more bluesbased rock than proper metal (a trick Darkthrone have flirted with in recent years); and "Here's to Hoping," which goes folkmetal in an entirely different way thanks to steadythumping polka rhythms that could turn slamdancing into squaredancing. Maybe not... Anyway, those with a thirst for more conventional, unadorned BM carnage, can still get their kicks from traditionally thrashy, buzzsawriffsandblastbeatfests like "The Antichrist Messiah," "Abstract Nihilism," and "Keep them Open" though the third, too, offers an unforeseen element with its garbled computer noise outro. Ending spacey and atmospheric instrumental "Decay" puts the lid on a masterful effort: at once retro and avantgarde, but, most importantly, well composed and entertaining from start to finish. - Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide Read more Less