«Black metal splits are great ways to expand your horizons on the genre, follow bands you like, and be introduced to others that those bands are fans of, here we have three great bands; Jord, Vorsk and Nocturnal Toxin & Carnage.
The first band on the split is Jord, a one man French band. The sound of the band is pretty decent, the tone of the guitars and drum been quite straight forward and typical of a black metal band, but the music itself is quite emotional and compelling. The style flitting from aggressive black metal riffing, to ominous and unsettling clean guitar passages with ease, such as at the end of first track ‘La Nuit’. The vocals are aggressive, and quite accented, reminiscent of fellow French black metallers Malevolentia. The drums are varied and decent into their beats, ranging from double bass to rhythmic passages, changing regularly throughout songs, keeping it interesting and accenting the music.
Second on the split is Vorsk, a DSBM band from New York, the first song ‘Melancholic Detachment’is my favourite from this band, it opens with an emotional clean section, which continues for a couple of minutes before the distorted guitar enters. The distortion on the guitar is very heavy, the screamed vocals over the top are quite typical for DSBM, the strangled howls heavy with reverb. The second track is a noise track, with nothing really to talk about, but at seventeen minutes, it is far too long. The last track for Vork is ‘Close Your Eyes’ and is quite different to the first, much faster, and employing more synth, the mix is quite different to the first as well, the vocals are much higher in the level, and the guitar is not quite as distorted. Overall, a mixed demonstration from Vorsk, but the first and third tracks should be checked out.
The final band is the reason I checked the split in the first place ‘Nocturnal Toxin & Carnage’, a band that stands out, bringing many influences from other metal, to regular rock, to the table with their take on black metal. First song ‘Isabella’ shows that, the guitar tone is aggressive and full, the drums are mixed and accent the guitar parts and the music in general. The vocals are tortured, aggressive and tormented, differing from regular black metal sounds, making it much more interesting, but also having moments where it finds the regular sound. The clean part in the mid of ‘Isabella’ is one of the most beautiful moments on the entire album, heavy with emotion and draws the listener in. The demonstrated black metal versatility and outside influence from Isabella continues across the other two tracks, with ‘Wish My Death Upon A Star’ been much faster than Isabella. ‘Wish’ begins with a great lick in the middle that is both aggressive and catchy, and even a guitar solo finding its way in. The final track ‘登鹳雀楼’ is a great way to end the album, from the clean beginning, to the great middle riff, slow and menacing, to its closing moments with drawn out notes, and the riff repeated. Al of it shows that Tzachitxz (sole member) knows how to write great black metal.
Overall, this is a great split for anyone who wants to expand their black metal horizons with some lesser known bands, each of the bands brings something new to the table that differs from the others.
Favourite tracks:
- Jord – Maudit
- Vorsk – Melancholic Detachment
- Nocturnal Toxin & Carnage – Isabella«
IMPERATORIA TENEBRIS PRAVITA 