Released on: 15th September 2018
Don’t cry for them Argentina because they, Noctem Aeternus, are slaying like a scythe during harvest on their debut album Winter Spells. A mightily impressive first album that sounds anachronistic in its production but progressively modern in its songwriting.
As snow derives from water so too is Winter Spells a derivative of the second-wave avant-garde black metal spawned from Norway. With high lo’s and bright hi frequencies the acoustics are reminiscent of the very olden Borknagar material with perhaps a bit of the anthemic Emperor sound bound in together. Which creates an eerily nostalgic warmth. And a stark juxtaposition from the ideas that the title inspires.
The songs on Winter Spells also hark back to the formula that was typical in the nineties where keyboard tracks acted as cushioning. Into and between the cacophony that the searing guitars offered. Yet where the keyboards originally gave a buffer to the might and magic of the grueling guitar riffs Noctem Aeternus have instead taken inspiration from the petulant trend of DSBM and crafted emotive soundscapes from start to finish.
Noctem Aeternus is revitalizing the necrotic genre of black metal with powerful new energy. Riffing poetically about the might of all things cold and frozen. Hailing from Argentina you might think that the content lacks empirical value but to that I say: Climate Change. Because this album is hot.
8/10
