atmospheric ambient / depressive black metal
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To many people, Indonesia isn't really known as a black metal country. Believe it or not, but the country actually seems to have quite a decent scene, ranging from traditional satanic black metal to modern day blackened post-metal or whatever people make of it. They also seem to have their own view on things and in that way this is quite an odd album. For starters, I've never seen a booklet mention a listen biography of the band, including the genre, the year of foundation and so on.
Second, and that's the strangest thing about this album, it contains three Lifelover covers. I can understand a cover or two at the end of an album but in this one the covers are tracks numbers two ('Instrumental Asylum'), four ('Mental Central Dialog') and eight ('Konvulsion'). Although it's rather odd, they fit in quite well with the rest of the music. However, we're not done there. This is not an entire black metal album, this is something unusual and surprisingly varied and mostly instrumental.
The album opens with a very good intro, reminding me of martial industrial acts like Puissance and turns into a black metal album with the first Lifelover cover. Then we get a short symphonic intermezzo and another cover. Then comes 'I Am Alive I Want To Fly', great piece of electronic bombast, coming quite close to Samael without guitars or drums or maybe Vangelis when he's intensely depressed. I actually really dig these pieces. In fact, I'd even go as far as saying that this kind of variation finally convinced me.
The black metal parts aren't just the covers. Nicrotek clearly knows how to write a decent depressive black metal song himself. The atmosphere and sound of 'Imagination' remind me of a blend between Tiamat and Xasthur, which, as you can probably imagine, is quite damn epic. Yet, here too, the howling wolves and the applause at the end feel strange to me but by now the strangeness really adds to the mystique of the album.
The alternation between dark ambient or martial industrial pieces and black metal works perfectly and gives this one man act enough credibility. Besides, in their own genres, each of these songs are excellent examples and a song like 'Nebula Like A Lost Dream' is simply awesome. Piercing guitars, haunted vocals, massive blast beats and a thick pitch black atmosphere. What else could you possibly desire?
Techno maybe? Well, it's there. 'Unexpected Situation' really is what the title predicts, because suddenly you're listen to dark trance song with broken beats. It's actually damn good too. And to please the headstrong black metal fan, Nicrotek closes this bizarre album with another grim and haunting song in 'Indulge In Fancies'.
So my advice? Well, look, it's only five euros (both download and CD). There are ep's with less decent songs being sold for a lot more money than that. This album can be seen as a great concept album, where some songs just happen to come from another band. On the other hand, see it as three brilliantly combined ep's, one with covers, one with dark electronics and one with stunning depressive black metal. Regardless of the strangeness, I can honestly say that I really dig this.
Serge
Second, and that's the strangest thing about this album, it contains three Lifelover covers. I can understand a cover or two at the end of an album but in this one the covers are tracks numbers two ('Instrumental Asylum'), four ('Mental Central Dialog') and eight ('Konvulsion'). Although it's rather odd, they fit in quite well with the rest of the music. However, we're not done there. This is not an entire black metal album, this is something unusual and surprisingly varied and mostly instrumental.
The album opens with a very good intro, reminding me of martial industrial acts like Puissance and turns into a black metal album with the first Lifelover cover. Then we get a short symphonic intermezzo and another cover. Then comes 'I Am Alive I Want To Fly', great piece of electronic bombast, coming quite close to Samael without guitars or drums or maybe Vangelis when he's intensely depressed. I actually really dig these pieces. In fact, I'd even go as far as saying that this kind of variation finally convinced me.
The black metal parts aren't just the covers. Nicrotek clearly knows how to write a decent depressive black metal song himself. The atmosphere and sound of 'Imagination' remind me of a blend between Tiamat and Xasthur, which, as you can probably imagine, is quite damn epic. Yet, here too, the howling wolves and the applause at the end feel strange to me but by now the strangeness really adds to the mystique of the album.
The alternation between dark ambient or martial industrial pieces and black metal works perfectly and gives this one man act enough credibility. Besides, in their own genres, each of these songs are excellent examples and a song like 'Nebula Like A Lost Dream' is simply awesome. Piercing guitars, haunted vocals, massive blast beats and a thick pitch black atmosphere. What else could you possibly desire?
Techno maybe? Well, it's there. 'Unexpected Situation' really is what the title predicts, because suddenly you're listen to dark trance song with broken beats. It's actually damn good too. And to please the headstrong black metal fan, Nicrotek closes this bizarre album with another grim and haunting song in 'Indulge In Fancies'.
So my advice? Well, look, it's only five euros (both download and CD). There are ep's with less decent songs being sold for a lot more money than that. This album can be seen as a great concept album, where some songs just happen to come from another band. On the other hand, see it as three brilliantly combined ep's, one with covers, one with dark electronics and one with stunning depressive black metal. Regardless of the strangeness, I can honestly say that I really dig this.
Serge