Nachtmystium is an American Black Metal band that has gained some well deserved attention recently due to the release of this album.

In this album we find Nachtmystium playing some quite depressing Black Metal in the vein of bands like Xasthur; although with a totally different approach to it.

Demise is in general a mid paced, melancholic album. The album is totally guitar oriented, thing that distinguishes the band from the previously mentioned Xasthur; there are no keyboards here; all the melancholic soundcapes are created via guitar, mostly by combining tremolo picking with other common Black Metal techniques. The drum work is absolutely nothing special but that’s how I like it in this kind of releases; the drums are there, but that’s it, no solos, no flashiness just some nice simple drumming. The vocals are cold and deep, quite good actually, but nothing really special.

I don’t think there’s something really special or original in this album but it has a very melancholic feeling to it and the atmosphere created is very sad, thing that I enjoy a lot. If you take the mid/slow pace of the album, the sad, melancholic riffs and the perfectly fitting production you have a deep sound that succeeds on creating a very engulfing mood any fan of depressive Black Metal will enjoy a lot.

I don’t find anything that I could say I didn’t like in the album, the music is solid and in general the album maintains a very steady quality level with a few highlights like a very sad, sad guitar in Scorpio Incarnate.

For those of you who feel you need a bit (or a lot) of darkness after all the joy of these festivities I can’t think of a better way for you to return to a negative state of mind. Demise is an album where darkness and depression fill your mind, if you feel up to it, be sure to pick it up. Fans of depressive Black Metal shouldn’t miss this one; you’ll devour this cold, sad and grim piece of art day after day for quite a long time; if you're looking for something more aggresive and faster don't look here, this is slow and depressive Black Metal at it's best.