Nachtmystium - Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II
Rating
RIYL
Altar of PlaguesKrallice
Oranssi Pazuzu
Release Date
06/08/2010
Label
Century MediaTracklist
1. Cry For Help2. High On Hate
3. Nightfall
4. No Funeral
5. Then Fires
6. Addicts
7. The End Is Eternal
8. Blood Trance Fusion
9. Ruined Life Continuum
10. Every Last Drop
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From their humble beginnings as an effective but straightforward black metal band, Nachtmystium has slowly progressed into an entity far more interesting and diverse. Led by Blake Judd, who also plays a role in the USBM supergroup Twilight, their evolution appeared complete with the release of their previous album, Assassins: Black Meddle Part I. Pushing experimentation to the forefront of their sound, Nachtmystium dulled their black metal attack in favor of a psychedelic lean that alienated many of their existing fans while opening up the group to a wealth of widespread notoriety. Addicts: Black Meddle Part II, initially conceived as a continuation of the sound found on Assassins, finds the group distancing themselves even further from the standard black metal aesthetic and closer towards a post punk sound equally rife with melodicism and mediocrity.
As opposed to the well-placed moments of psychedelic and classic rock found on their previous album, Addicts’ streamlined sound comes across as more insipid than genuinely innovative or progressive. “No Funeral” is the most egregious offender, utilizing a repetitive, dance-infused keyboard track along with an ill-conceived snare sound that may amuse members of the band but will leave most listeners cringing. “Nightfall” offers a preview of the blandness that the band can’t seem to shake throughout the rest of the album and, despite their forays into post punk and, to a lesser extent, post rock, nothing on the album manages to stand out even after repeat listens.
In a recent interview, Judd shared the impact that groups like Killing Joke and Ministry had on Addicts, his vocals in particular. “One thing people hate about extreme music often times, they love the music but can’t deal with the vocals, they can’t understand the words. So I’m trying to find a way where I can still scream pretty harshly and also be understood. Killing Joke does a great job of that, as does Ministry.” This statement shows not only a step away from black metal and extreme music in general, but also a calculated step toward the mainstream. This idea in itself would be fairly inoffensive were Judd’s vocal performance more refined; as it stands, his monotonous vocals are devoid of any noticeable range and considerably detract from the quality of the album.
Though disappointing as a whole, there are a handful of interesting moments scattered throughout the album. “High On Hate,” one of the few black metal tracks to be found on Addicts, provides a misleading uptempo attack supported by Wrest’s (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice) steady drumming, while “Blood Trance Fusion” offers a brief example of the group’s new found post punk influence actually paying off. Later tracks “The End is Eternal” and “Every Last Drop” each show moments of promise before eventually meandering to uneventful conclusions.
In the end, any positives are too few and far between to salvage the overall quality of the album. Experimentation is a double-edged sword and, because of it, Part II of the Black Meddle series fails where Part I succeeded. The surprisingly public Judd has spoken extensively about his disinterest with appealing to black metal purists and, considering the group’s previous string of excellent releases, it seemed that he had earned the right to make such a statement. The question with Addicts is, is he really appealing to anyone at this point?
--Matt Murphy
Comments
Green Brook, NJ
2 stars? really?
Infinitely Inwards
somebody go listen to sigh instead.
Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
The Mars Volta - Noqtourniqet
Aborted - Global Flatline
Spawn of Possession - Incurso
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape
Copperas Cove, TX
I loved the direction they went with part 1, haven't had the chance to listen to this one yet but I'm going to assume its way more than 2 lousy stars =(
"Let no one know that God hasn’t any friends and if wilderness is found laid out across your heart, then child I do understand that you haven’t a clue of where to start." -Me.
Minnesota
A 2 is pretty spot on. I was severely underwhelmed by this. Part of what kills it is the overly fuzzed out guitars/vocals and crappy production values. If those two things got cleaned up a bit, I could see myself getting slightly more into this.
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