I wasn’t sure that Nachtblut would be able to top their incredible album Chimonas and after being disappointed by Apostasie‘s lead single Amok, I almost felt a little nervous to hear the full album. However thankfully, my worries proved to be unfounded because Apostasie is absolutely excellent.
Apostasie sees the band take a slightly new direction and there’s a more industrial vibe to the music as a whole. It’s perhaps difficult to compare it to their previous releases because of this (although there’s no doubt that it certainly ‘feels’ like a Nachtblut album stylistically!) but it can certainly be said that this is an absolutely stellar bit of work. It’s clear that a lot of time and effort has gone into making the album as powerful as it is, and it’s definitely paid off.
The album for the most part is excellent, with a good heavy feel to it, but it’s the more electronically-driven songs that stand out from the crowd. Fourth track Scheinfromm has a great drive and momentum to it and following track Geboren um zu leben is one of those tracks that you won’t be forgetting in a hurry. With some seriously punchy synths paired up with funky beats and juxtaposed against the harsh vocals, there’s a lot going on in the song and subsequently really leaves a mark on you!
Meanwhile, the title track is a more ‘traditional’ sounding Nachtblut song and it helps to end the album on a high. With an absolutely triumphant introduction that serves as a recurring theme over the course of the song, the chunky and sound gives the song a lot of body and makes for some seriously epic listening.
Apostasie is a bold release that has really paid off for Nachtblut, and it’s going to be a release that will be on heavy rotation for me for the rest of the year at least! This is Nachtblut’s best album yet.
10/10
