Nachtmystium - Doomsday Derelicts
Battle Kommand Records
Black Metal
4 songs (18:00)
Release year: 2009
Nachtmystium, Battle Kommand Records
Reviewed by James

Blimey, another Nachtmystium EP? It seems like only a few weeks ago I was reviewing their masterful Worldfall release. Assassins was released just over a year ago at the time of writing, and despite glowing reviews from sources far outside the black metal underground (including the insanely trendy Pitchfork Media) and gaining the band a tour with Opeth, arguably the biggest extreme metal band on the planet right now, it hasn't quite been the breakthrough release you'd expect. Indeed, 2009 has been a frustrating year, with the band being thrown off the Scion Rock Fest for ludicrous allegations of fascism, and an injury to frontman Blake Judd resulting in the need to drop out of a tour with The Haunted. Although the songs on Doomsday Derelicts were probably written long before the band's run of misfortune, it's fitting that the EP is the band at their most monstrously pissed-off. The record may have gained criticism for dropping the psychedelia, but upon closer inspection that's a somewhat hollow complaint. Assassins was never all that trippy in the first place, and indeed, the straightforward blasts of Ghosts Of Grace and Your True Enemy were where the record hit hardest, and even without the Floydian facade it would still have been a great heavy metal album. As shown by the cover, Doomsday Derelicts is a more primitive, aggressive band, Bones storming out of the gate with pounding drums and Judd's bestial roar. The record doesn't let up throughout its (admittedly brief) run-time, a blistering response to those who lamented the band going soft. There's perhaps a more noticeable thrash presence this time out, even the pounding, mid-paced Pitch Black Cadence bursting into Slayer-ish soloing and the kind of riffs that could have come off the last Toxic Holocaust album. Elsewhere, Hellish Overdose sounds like Nocturno Culto fronting Metallica, the song being nothing less than the band's very own Seek And Destroy, and by rights should be a fixture in any future live dates the band may play.

Although Worldfall felt like, and very much was a stopgap release (being mostly covers and a reworking of old material), Doomsday Derelicts is all new, and feels very much like a cohesive collection of new material that just wouldn't fit in with the band's new sound. It definitely shouldn't be seen as simply something to tide die-hard fans over until the release of the next album. Indeed, the punchy nature of this release makes it an ideal starting point for newcomers. However, if this is meant to concentrate on the heaviest, most metallic side of Nachtmystium, it'd be nice to see the next release showing the band at their most genuinely psychedelic and experimental (A whole album of stuff like the Seasick suite of Assassins would be incredible). Let's hope whatever comes next from the Nachtmystium camp is every bit as experimental and forward-thinking as this is straightforward and aggressive.

Killing Songs :
All!
James quoted no quote
Other albums by Nachtmystium that we have reviewed:
Nachtmystium - The World We Left Behind reviewed by Goat and quoted 50 / 100
Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine reviewed by Goat and quoted 84 / 100
Nachtmystium - Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. 2 reviewed by Charles and quoted 88 / 100
Nachtmystium - Worldfall reviewed by James and quoted no quote
Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Part I reviewed by James and quoted 87 / 100
To see all 10 reviews click here
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