Nidernes (Portugal) - Beyond the Gleam of Nightsky (Album 2022)

The much awaited sophomore full-length by the portuguese tyrant known as Nidernes, and a great follow up to the fantastic “Darkness Cenotaph“ full lenght, which was certainly one of my 2020 highlights. “Beyond the Gleam of Nightsky“ shows a very much lapidated and more ornamented sound in Nidernes, still maintaining the same nightly essence and devotion to the dark flames but now with some different nuances. While the riffing work was already very much inspired by Finnish Black Metal and legendary acts such as Vlad Tepes, in this album it is even more orthodox and rooted in this tradition, with less space for the more labyrinthine passages in previous works, but certainly conveying the poignant dread of the moribund The addition of more keyboards and epic clean vocals however bring this album into newer territory, almost reminiscing with some 90s Symphonic Black Metal at times, perfectly channeling the majesty of nightsky as seen from the enchanted woods of old. With the excellent contributions of revered artists in today’s scene and in Black Metal history, such as Lamp of Murmuur on guest vocals in track 4 and 6, Ainul Iblis in the border artwork and the great Wlad Drakksteim in mastering duties certainly elevate even more this offering. Another great record, available digitally through the project’s bandcamp page and released on cassette and CD through Black Gangrene Productions. Nidernes: Black Gangrene Productions: Tracklist: 1 The Sepulchre of Unrest 00:00 2 My Soul Is an Abyss Riddled with Disease 02:39 3 The Lassitude that Frays the Blood 07:10 4 Garbed in Lint and Lustrous Dead Light 13:28 5 A Feculent New Dawn 18:39 6 Joyous Those Blessed with Madness 21:50 7 Amidst Fragrant and Laden Desires 27:42 8 Nocturnal Foul Silhouettes 32:57 All rights belong to Nidernes and Black Gangrene Productions Video will be deleted upon request.