Nightbringer/Acherontas-The Ruins of Edom
Considering that I have been
voraciously devouring anything and everything American black metal luminaries
Nightbringer have put out since the day Lucifer Trismegistus first viciously
carved the sigils of Satan unto my unsuspecting mortal form, it is needless
that amid a sea of terrific releases I was anticipating this year, this was
high upon the list. Nightbringer is,
quite simply, one of the greatest American black metal bands currently still in
operation, utilizing vile yet grandiose riffing that takes the usual chthonic
atmosphere of black metal to a far more dangerous level. Acherontas too, is no mere acolyte in the
scene, crafting darkly melodic overtures that draw heavily upon the riffs of
such Swedish legends as Dissection and Necrophobic, while adding a more
dissonant aspect that puts them firmly in the “Orthodox” black metal camp.
The resulting split could in some
sense be considered a display of consistency on both bands’ part, yet I could
not help but feel that for me personally, it represented the hitting of a
creative rut that most great bands eventually stumble upon in their
careers. The split opens on the
Nightbringer side with a cavernous, ritualistic dark ambient piece that serves
as an effective, haunting introduction to Mare, the first true metallic track
on the release. In the tried and true
spirit of a Nightbringer song, tremolo-picked melodies whirl (dare I say
waltz?) like possessed dervishes over a blood-soaked mountaintop, equal parts
nocturnal and blistering, while blasting drums simultaneously hammer away at
the foundations of your sanity.
The race towards perdition
eventually slows down and culminates in a paean of dark triumph, providing a
satisfying conclusion to this blasphemous assault. While Mare was undoubtedly the most enjoyable
piece on the split for me, in the end it still felt like an inferior rehashing
of the scorching style they had perfected on Apocalypse Sun, albeit with every
element that made the latter release great toned-down and condensed into more
accessible form. The song’s relative
predictability and straightforward song structure ended up only making me crave
the more mystical, jarring realms of their past releases, despite it being in all
regards a solid track.
That being said, the second
Nightbringer track would prove far more lackluster in form. The Grave-Earth’s Son drags itself into
nonexistence with its lack of song dynamics and plodding pace. While similar, slower numbers had worked well
for Nightbringer in the past through the sheer majesty of their melodic fervor,
Grave-Earth’s Son simply just sits there and stews in menace, but ultimately
doesn’t deliver the conclusive bite that would have made the song stand out for
me. While certainly not lacking in the
trademark Nightbringer atmosphere, the song proved to be a narrative to
nowhere, not aggressive or purposeful enough for its own good.
After
another long dark ambient interlude that, while serving its purpose
effectively, felt anticlimactic as the epilogue of a below-average Nightbringer
performance, it’s finally Acherontas’s turn to spread their miasma over
hallowed ground. And they do so, in
great form. Layil is a monstrous track
that takes the mystical diabolism of Vamachara and adds a degree of dissonant
urgency not unlike what we have heard in French luminaries Deathspell Omega’s
work. The riffs are relentless in their
shifting nature and pummel the listener like molten meteorites. Yet they never
become too convoluted for their own good, and ultimately serve as mere conduits
for a powerful atmosphere of unearthly blackness. The track eventually pulls itself into a
subtle yet beautiful melodic riff that draws this symphony of darkness to a
close. In contrast to Naas Alcameth’s
monstrous howls however, Acherontas’s vocalist seemed rather meek, especially
in the context of Layil’s more bombastic nature. This minor irritant only slightly detracted
from my overall appreciation of the track.
Alas,
the moment of triumph is all too ephemeral, as the Acherontas side draws to a
close with yet another ambient outro that seems all too anticlimactic. In the end, The Ruins of Edom falls prey to
its own lack of ambition, yet is framed in a grandiose manner that belies the
rather brief moments of triumph within its enclosure. While the release does contains its flashes
of brilliance, I cannot help but feel that so much more could have been
accomplished through this unholy alliance.
7/10
