Nokturne / Todesweihe Split

BLITZKRIEG DEATH INVOCATIONS!
(should have just been Blitzkrieg Invocations, less cheesy)

As of late I have been listening to Nokturne's newest release avidly. It consists of the signature Nokturne sound and WWII influenced lyrics (song titles, no lyrics written) that makes Nokturne the sickest, most followed, Black Metal band of Los AngeleSS (clever, huh)

Nokturne, since Curse of the Nazarene (although that album sucked), have created their own sound. With the ubiquitous Darkthrone clones, Nokturne is sure to satisfy those that have not followed Black Metal closely due to the fact that Darkthrone runs it. Nokturne has managed to synthesize razor sharp riffs, blast beats, marching patterns, and disgusting vocals resulting in something invigorating.

This album picks up right where Wargod Domination left off. The drumming becomes fast and occassionaly drops to a slower pace which also showcases the versatility of Lord Doom, surprisingly, I don't hear much fills and when performed it seems to be consisting of one tom, the snare, and bass work similar to that of Inquisition. The bass is audible which is ALWAYS a plus, in fact their is actually a bass line in White Roaring Abyss. It's nothing very extraordinary as it follows the guitars but it does provide a lower end for the razor sharp effect. You may be wondering why I keep using "razor sharp" as a description but that's all that I can think of which suits the guitar riffs. It's nothing cold in the sense of Immortal nor is it warm like the solos executed by Enthroned. Not very technical, I must say but it is in fact catchy, Sigil Mord has managed to embed itself in my head which always results in frequent listening. Psykho's vocals are still disgusting but they seem to be less dynamic. In Kruelty Kampaign the vocals were in your face throughout the album and as the releases continued it began to blend in. Certainly, vocals blended in with the music creates a dark unhuman atmosphere, but this is an exception. Psykho's vocals are something uncommon thus it deserves to be on it's own level in terms of mixing.

The mixing brings me to the next thing to be criticized. Everything seems to lack UMPH! The vocals seem to lack any power even when he changes the tones, the guitars seem to be drowned out during certain portions of the songs, and the snare isn't quite loud unless it is the deep portion that I hear throughout the song and the bass is what is nonexistent.

Other than the mixing of the album, it still manages to carry on the Nokturne name. It definitely does deserve proclaiming originality and it definitely does deserve purchasing without hesitation. I must add that this is a split but Todesweihe's portion is not worth listening to, I for one, listened to one song and decided to never listen to that portion AGAIN! It's horrible, and when compared to Nokturne, it evokes the question of "Who ever thought of such a split?"

Note: They are not NS, they have just adopted the symbols of NS because of their interest and lyrical themes much like how bands like Slayer adopt the pentagram to express lyrics relevant to Anti-Christianity. If you were able to add 1+1, you would notice only one member is white and they play in Los Angeles.

The Verdict:
8.5/10

Catchy as fuck without sacrificing any Black Metal "guidelines".