Nox Illunis – Metempsychosis (2012)

Two years have passed since the release of the excellent “In Sideris Penumbra” and today we finally get Nox Illunis latest release titled “Metempsychosis”. Keeping up with their brutal mixture of harsh Black Metal with a heavy dose of melodic elements, this is one release you do not want to miss. Hailing from Italy, this band impressed us with their previous record, and they have surely improved with this one.

Firing away on all cylinders, this release opens with the crushing “Sfera Prima: Del Risveglio Dal Sonno”. This very brutal track immediately starts with a massive wall of sound built by the demonic drumming and powerful riffing. The vocals are as oppressive as always and they give that extra level of brutality to the already super aggressive music. However, it is the perfectly placed melodic passages that make this song (and album) one fine piece of work.

The melodic onslaught of brutality keeps going with the excellent “Sfera Seconda: Del Distruttore”, a track that would be our definite favorite if it wasn’t for some horrible clean screams mixed between some clean and harsh vocals. We can’t really determine if it is a dude or a chick that is providing those things, but they are just bad. With that minor inconvenience taken aside, this track is another brilliant showing of the band’s abilities to craft raw Black Metal music with very emotional melodic sections.

The band keeps blasting the competition away with hellishly good tracks like “Sfera Terza: Della Caduta”, “Sfera Quarta: Della Tentazione”, and “Sfera Sesta: Del Creatore”, but it is not until “Sfera Quinta: Della Rinascita” where we really find our favorite song of the album. This track reminds us of Ulver’s majestic opus “Bergtatt”, and their use of clean vocals in melodic passages placed in the midst of a chaotic Black Metal track. The band really comes off very mature and comfortable with their powerful yet lush sound, something that none of your average bands can pull off.

Nox Illunis is one of those few Black Metal bands that really understand the concept of adding melancholic elements to their music to make it stronger. With such a brutal sound combined with majestic melodic sections, this band is quickly becoming one of our favorite Melodic BM bands. If you like stuff that is hatefully fast and raw but with melodic passages and a healthy sense of balance, “Metempsychosis” is the perfect release for you.

Release: July 15th, 2012

Genre: Melodic Black Metal

Country: Italy