NOLTEM - Illusions in the Wake
Transcending Obscurity Records
While listening to this full length debut by Connecticut's NOLTEM. I was reminded of a recent conversation with someone on the many sub genre facets of black metal. It eventually concluded with the analogy of two paths in the woods which eventually cross. While many genre fans follow the course which follows the darker aspects to say the least. There's that other path which delves into nature and mystery. And it's us fans who stand at the crossroad either liking it all or going on our way.
I won't say I'm a huge fan of the lighter BM acts out there. In the early days it was cool. But there was a time over a decade ago when you had some people seeing the popularity of black metal and decided to create acts who tossed in some blastbeats, a few cold tremolo riffs into a sound structure that was rooted in indie rock/post rock noodling. I won't mention any names here but their goal of making BM watered down and hip kinda failed.
It was from that wake where you had the real BM acts emerge pushing harshness minus the evil and creating beautiful sounds. It's from that legacy which gives us NOLTEM. This three piece act have a command of the beauty and brutality in which to create a convincing piece of black metal majesty. Aside from the melodic forms interwoven with cold icing tremolo riffs they inject a light folk touch which sounds great. At the same time keeping the vocals on a deep angry bestial style.
Another thing I like about this band is their ability to combine some sweet sounding guitar soloing within their song structures. There's some keyboards tastefully placed for additional leads as well as background effect. Add to that the drum work on here is exceptional. This is a six song release with a running time of just over forty minutes. NOLTEM utilizes that time to create an ever flowing constantly changing landscape of sound. It's pretty damm good.
LISTEN HERE:
https://noltemband.bandcamp.com/album/illusions-in-the-wake-atmospheric-black-metal
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