Nokturnal Mortum - Twilightfall (1995/2004)

As the earliest documentation of their existence, 'Twilightfall' marks the beginning of one of the most remarkable careers in the black/folk metal genre. Originally released in Cassette format back in ’95 under the Nocturnal Mortum name (The special K came later) it would seem even in these early days Sataroth, Xaarquath, Wortherax, Munruthel and Varggoth (all former members of Suppuration) were able to craft together some intriguing dark music.

The first noticeable thing about 'Twilightfall' is that the music is largely more death metal based and worlds more melodic sounding than future endeavors from this band. In fact one of the most pleasing aspects of this demo is the beautiful melodic and basically traditional sounding guitar solos that are present on songs like, 'Autumn Opposition,' 'Glass Coffin,' and 'On the Wings of Scarlet Sunset,' which truly had me raising an eyebrow at these guys proficiency. In an odd sort of way parts of this demo sound influenced by Dissection and early melodic death metal bands, though the music is a bit slower and generally moves at mid-pace and even shows some doom metal elements throughout the recording. Varggoth’s vocals are performed in a low growl and blackened raspy style, which is obviously a bit different from the vocals he'd lay down for the 'Lunar Poetry' demo the following year and everything that followed.

Interestingly a lot of elements that play major parts in future recordings of Nokturnal Mortum are already present on this early demo; symphonic keyboards, folk influences, Pagan/Slavonic pride lyrics as well as occasional female vocals and acoustic guitars appear. Of course they are not as used as they would become on future and present work, but they are there and I can only imagine they were one of the first bands to include all of this in one recording. The production, although possibly remastered on this rerelease, sounds decent enough for a mid-90's demo, somewhat muddy but certainly listenable, though the volume is fairly low.

'Twilightfall' will definitely come as a surprise to anyone that has familiarized themselves with 'The Voice of Steel' or really anything the bands released for that matter, but to me that's just one of the exciting things about discovering a band that's got several releases behind them.

Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns (1998)

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.

Nokturnal Mortum - Голос Сталі (The Voice of Steel) (2009)

I first began listening to Nokturnal Mortum about nine years ago and I can honestly say this group of Ukrainians has never, not even once left me disappointed with any single album they’ve released. From their early synth laden black metal masterpieces like, ‘Lunar Poetry’ or ‘Goat Horns,’ to their very strongly folk influenced previous album, ‘Weltanschauung,’ I’ve found absolutely everything from Nokturnal Mortum to be epic, majestic, well composed and absolutely relevant; truly solidifying this band as one of the most novel and breathtaking black metal bands ever.

On ‘Голос Сталі (The Voice of Steel)’ NM has defied all expectations and crafted what is truly their magnum opus and largely what I wouldn’t hesitate to call one of the finest black/folk metal releases ever. It’s almost unthinkable the level of epicness a song like ‘Голос Сталі’ reaches, the appearance of an awesome blues solo in ‘Валькирия’ or a totally 70’s sounding progressive rock solo in ‘Моєї Мрії Острови’ as well as the overall catchiness and breathtaking guitar work that graces ‘Україна.’

This just sheds a little bit of light on this record, to actually fully explain it is nearly impossible because there is just so much going on. Each and every song offers up so much; be it an astonishing synth melody, a marvelous guitar riff/solo, some form of catchiness, extraordinary heights of epicness or one of the amazing sounding folk instruments. There’s very little that’s dark or evil about this release, in fact I find the whole thing to be quite uplifting and it fuels me with vigor as I listen each and every time. I’ve blasted this release at ridiculous volumes while driving around, I’ve head banged like a mad man, I’ve had the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight and I’ve absolutely, positively adored every last second of this album every time I’ve played it. Basically what I’m saying is; this is one for the ages, a true testament of greatness, a masterpiece, my new favorite album and surely one of the finest recordings those well tuned ears of yours will ever hear. I love this album.

Furthermore I must also point out that the album cover and the booklet is absolutely stunning thus making a truly great album all the more beautiful in its overall depth and importance. If you’ve heard any previous Nokturnal Mortum release I absolutely implore you to pick this one up or if you’re just curious about the black/folk metal genre then I can honestly say this is one of the finest entries ever in this field. Don’t miss this spectacular release!