THIS IS HOW BLACK METAL SHOULD BE

I usually divide black metal into two categories: the “good” ones, yielding creativity and working guitars with riffs, alternating between fast and slow parts and controlling the ambience. I actually hate the “bad” ones that can’t do more than hyper-speed drumming and high pitched guitar tones up to the 12th fret ahead, and shredding all three strings all the time. We got the good one here, and the album spawns in showing that as it plays the first riff. It’s a great album from a band that surely knows what they’re doing. The main style could be defined as nihilist black metal. Nihilist mainly, because they don’t follow usual black metal tendencies. Their cause is not satanic at all. The Vatican image appears totally destroyed at the cover art, that is not due to Satanism but the most despicable work mankind has ever settled. Influenced mainly by the old Marduk from “Fuck Me Jesus” and “Dark Endless”, combined with Dark Throne’s “A Blaze In the Northern Sky, the album has got 9 songs of what black metal should be. The vocals are sharp and somehow apocalyptic. The guitar work is great, turning from fast riffs to slow low pitched melodies and the tone is amazing. This is their first release and they already show a very mature and consistent songwriting formula, yet managing to sound unique. The slow parts are always present, but most of the album is violent and fast. “He who must be killed” is a very good opening track, with a catchy main black metal riff followed by some good and weird slow parts. The blast beats are not as fast as ordinary black metal albums, they're a bit faster than thrash metal patterns, though. All the members seem to be very confident with their abilities, even though two of the members use to play in a hard rock/countrycore band, which has absolutely nothing to do with this style. the bass and drums parts are very creative, not repetitive, the mid paced tempo are very well structured and the guitars lines are very metallic and riffy.

Highlights to the “He who must be killed”, which shows lots of creative riffs and a tense ambience. “The funeral”, starting with the very famous Chopin’s piano sonata n° 2, also known as the “funeral march”. The song that gives name to the album is also a great highlight. Though, there is no bad song here. They’re not repetitive. Every song has its own peculiarities and this is so true that you can’t judge the band by listening to one or two songs, once they reach almost every black metal ground there is throughout the album. Their live performance is also very peculiar. The band comes dressed as monks with black cassocks, and the vocalist comes in mummified, and throughout the show he unfolds turn by turn, unveiling his face.

The name of the album “Nunc Scio Tenebris Lux” comes from Latin and means something like “Now I understand that the darkness comes from the light”. It was produced and recorded independently and this is why this material is so hard to find.

Veredict: 9,4