Long ago (well, sometime in '96, anyway) far to the mysterious eastern land of Ukraine, something wickedly evil was brewing in a city named, Kharkov. There name was Nokturnal Mortum and in 1997 they released the, ‘Goat Horns’ MC via MetalAgen/Morbid Noizz Records, however it wasn’t until a year later that the rest of the world heard the album when The End & Nuclear Blast Records re-released it on CD. Although it probably wasn't instant, 'Goat Horns' gained followers of its speedy black metal style with epic symphonic synths and folk & Celtic influences, which was fairly unique at the time (recorded in summer of '96). Looking back I heard this album in late 2000 when I stumbled across The End Records and was also introduced to bands like, Scholomance, Mental Home, Sculptured and Agalloch, but that's really not that important. What I recall the most is that the first time I heard this album it was in my CD walkman (CD... whatmon?) and I was on my way to the bus stop to catch the bus downtown for my college courses and it was freakin' cold that day. I remember the whole frigid atmosphere and the epic structure of the songs blended so well together that it instantly became a favorite of mine and remained so for many years.
I guess it happened in early 2010, listening to what I had always considered to be one of the most masterful black metal recordings ever, but perhaps age had brought objectiveness into my life as suddenly I just didn't feel as passionate about this record as I previously did. The synths, which I had always considered to be absolutely beautiful, but also constantly very sinister, grand, and symphonic like too suddenly sounded dated and generally quite hooky to my ears. In fact, there's a funny memory I have from early 2001 where I tried playing this album for some non-metal ears and a pal of mine just ripped the album saying it all sounded like a computer midi file, which honestly it really does.
Played by two individuals on this album and apparently actually two keyboards were used, which made them the dominate instrument to be heard as they overshadow everything else, especially the guitar, which sounds like a distant murmur most of the time, though a few clever riffs do sneak through here and there. Similarly the drums are a distant rumble, the vocals sound muffled at times and the bass only shines through during the calmer moments.
Nevertheless I still do have quite a bit of love for these songs, perhaps just because of the nostalgia connected to them. I mean seriously, 'Black Moon Overture' is one of the corniest intros ever recorded, but I think that vintage video game tunes lover inside me can't resist this one, and there are honestly many moments in this recording where the keyboards do sound just like a midi or maybe even an old cellphone ring tone. Also despite my bitching I still do love the title track and the epic freezing mood the first half of the track provides, likewise, 'Unholy Orathania' & 'Kolyada' have some really neat folk melodies in them, while, 'Veles' Scrolls' is still pretty damn majestic at times.
The reason for pointing out its flaws is simply because I did always consider it to be one of the best ever and I was quite quick to defend it if anyone did rip it, but time changes things and the same happened with Nokturnal Mortum too. Their following album, 'To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire' was similar, but a hell of a lot faster and more properly produced, while, 'NeChrist,' their third album was a blasting black metal foray complete with enough folk and polka music to drive you insane... and suddenly they were really into the killing Jews thing too..., yeah. Eventually they grew up, ditched the Hitler business and released two very mature and excellent folk metal releases, dubbed, 'Weltanschauung' & 'The Voice of Steel.'
And the legend continues.
And the I still enjoy this corny masterpiece too.
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