Nocternity - A Fallen Unicorn
Debemur Morti Productions
Black Metal
8 songs (39:19)
Release year: 2004
Nocternity, Debemur Morti Productions
Reviewed by Misha

A new release graces the land of Necromantia and Varathron. Through a third full-length release by the emperoresque black metal band, Nocternity seems to have dropped most pagan influences that were audible on the previous Onyx. The slim early Burzum influence has also been suppressed further, resulting in a more characteristic sound. The band finds use for less corpsepaint than the average BMers, but of swords and other ancient Greek weaponry seems no lack at all. However the pagan/mythological theme may be controversial and attractive, still, the Hellenic kvlt masters do not have a sound that is genuine enough for them to fully stand on their own feet. I must note though, that they came closer to that this time.

After the short usual intro, Nocternity kicks in with a chaotic assault entitled A Fallen Unicorn. Hollow and fast yet emotionally burdened, the music reminded me immediately of Isvind’s Dark Waters Stir and Abigor’s work. The sound is pure Apocalypse. While maintaining the fury of a firestorm, Nocternity manage to express the miserable side of the theme as well. The band may sound like Isvind and Abigor, but the main influence still remains Emperor. An explanation may be that Nocternity is not as mainstream in its sound as the legendary Norsemen. Nocternity sound more like a buzz than Emperor, and does not rely as heavily on keyboards to assemble the melodic aspect of the album as the latter. However I’d personally go with Nocternity’s approach on both aspects, most casual black metal enjoyers would go with Emperor (which I have never been the greatest fan of) on this one.

As I mentioned earlier, for something to sound apocalyptic, a hollow sound works best. Here we find an almost blasphemous amount of reverb, totally suiting the music. The drums have this great sensation of battle that leads to a deep and epic feeling in combination with the reverb. Especially on tracks like Pagan Poetry the rumble in the depths is victorious. To get a better idea of the pounding, reissue Abigor’s Nachthymnen. The guitars are a straight black metal tremolo buzz. They mostly produce riffs as great as imperceptible, but every fan of the genre should know that there is no feeling like not being sure if it’s a great tune gently moving to the front or your mind filling in the blanks. The most intense moments on the disk are when the strong melodies overlay the rest of the music in such a way that there is even less certainty on what is going on when and where. The Emerald Serpent Prince excels here, but on the other tracks the quality and emotion of the melodies is not less, it’s just not as captivatingly hidden there. I always enjoy these phantom melodies, but the amount of more obvious music is just as well represented here.

The vocals and keyboards are both put low in the mix, and neither one of them is more present than black art minimally requires. The vocals enjoy the same deep, cold and hollow resonance as the guitars and drums and contribute to a certain abysmal sound. While not really capable of expressing the misery or hate I’d like to have heard, they fit quite well, especially on the more atmospheric Pagan Poetry.

Summed up, an album that might not be completely original, but is very good and strong nonetheless. Most certainly worth checking out for Emperor enthusiasts as well as fans of more rawer styles of black metal, such as the mentioned Abigor and Isvind. Strong melodies provide headbang parts while the melancholic side of the apocalyptic sound is all but forgotten. This album will remain interesting for quite some time, and I’ll definitely be looking for any forthcoming releases!

Killing Songs :
A Fallen Unicorn.
Misha quoted 70 / 100
Other albums by Nocternity that we have reviewed:
Nocternity - Harps of the Ancient Temples reviewed by Andy and quoted 71 / 100
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