Nachtmystium
ADDICTS: BLACK MEDDLE PT. 2

July 2010
Released: 2010, Candlelight Records
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: Demonator

The new Nachtmystium leaves me cold. There – in the face of several recent reviews to the contrary - I've said it and what's more, I'll freely admit that like many of my fellow underground devotees, I've had this Chicago troupe pegged as the greatest thing to come along black metal's pike since Emperor. But, as is always the case, genius leads to a level of expectation and by all accounts Nachtmystium have erected a veritable skyscraper in that regard, particularly with 2008's ASSASSINS: BLACK MEDDLE PT. 1, which most mortals would struggle to scale.



Judging by the ear-twisting mugging of "High on Hate" and "Nightfall", you'd think them more than capable though. Still as enamored with Pink Floyd's spaced out progression as they are with all things necro, the first cut mounts a fast, gritty assault, showing the band off at their most venomous and apocalyptic. The latter meanwhile trades tempo for ambiance and ends up being exactly the sort of creative curveball you'd expect from masters of their craft.



From there onwards though, free-spun creativity quickly devolves into an patchy and self-indulgent mess. "Ruined Life Continuum" is indie rock masquerading in corpsepaint getup. The lengthy "Every Last Drop" attempts to be epic, but fails to come within pissing distance of any similarly inclined effort in the band’s back catalogue. "The End Is Eternal" is plain old stock standard shit. And thus where ASSASSINS had us craving a sequel, this outing leaves us demanding restitution. Nachtmystium are capable of much better and they know it.