Nehemah - Requiem Tenebrae
2004 - FDG24 - Oaken Shield
By Philip Whitehouse
Raw, primitive, and downright evil black metal is the dish served cold from France's Nehemah on Requiem Tenebrae, and my compliments go to the chef, 'cos this is a hellishly effective, hate-fuelled platter. From the minimalist-but-cool cover artwork (grainy picture of corpse-painted band member super-imposed onto the Horsehead Nebula) to the occult symbols plastered liberally all over the inlay, you know Nehemah are pretty serious about black metal. Actually listening to the album confirms this suspicion in no small way.
The intro, 'Creeping Chaos', is a slow-burning atmospheric piece that is simultaneously reflective, relaxing and oddly unsettling - lasting just long enough to shift your mental synchronicity just out of balance before 'The Great Old Ones' comes storming out of the speakers like shards of broken glass blown out by a concussion grenade. The lightning-speed blast-beat driven pace of the song allows no respite to even think, let alone breathe, and this song (and the next) seem to speed by like a a stampede of creatures constructed of wickedly sharp ice-shards. Then, along comes 'The Elder Gods Awakening', with its decidedly more mid-tempo pace, and suddenly you can appreciate the varied drumming. Then you start to notice the keyboards, supporting the chords at the peripherary of the sound. Then, there's an actual guitar solo!
The rest of the album follows suit, alternately sucking you into a vaccuum of black metal screeches, howls and machine-gun blastbeats before spitting you back out into the relative calm of the eye of the storm. The production suits this perfectly (although the drums are somewhat quiet and tinny), and the general feeling on offer is of a talented, dedicated and one hundred percent convicted band of black metallers performing to the best of their abilities. The lyrics occasionally recall the venomous outpourings of Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, too!
Essential for true black metal fans.
9/10
Official Nehemah website
2004 - FDG24 - Oaken Shield
By Philip Whitehouse
Raw, primitive, and downright evil black metal is the dish served cold from France's Nehemah on Requiem Tenebrae, and my compliments go to the chef, 'cos this is a hellishly effective, hate-fuelled platter. From the minimalist-but-cool cover artwork (grainy picture of corpse-painted band member super-imposed onto the Horsehead Nebula) to the occult symbols plastered liberally all over the inlay, you know Nehemah are pretty serious about black metal. Actually listening to the album confirms this suspicion in no small way.
The intro, 'Creeping Chaos', is a slow-burning atmospheric piece that is simultaneously reflective, relaxing and oddly unsettling - lasting just long enough to shift your mental synchronicity just out of balance before 'The Great Old Ones' comes storming out of the speakers like shards of broken glass blown out by a concussion grenade. The lightning-speed blast-beat driven pace of the song allows no respite to even think, let alone breathe, and this song (and the next) seem to speed by like a a stampede of creatures constructed of wickedly sharp ice-shards. Then, along comes 'The Elder Gods Awakening', with its decidedly more mid-tempo pace, and suddenly you can appreciate the varied drumming. Then you start to notice the keyboards, supporting the chords at the peripherary of the sound. Then, there's an actual guitar solo!
The rest of the album follows suit, alternately sucking you into a vaccuum of black metal screeches, howls and machine-gun blastbeats before spitting you back out into the relative calm of the eye of the storm. The production suits this perfectly (although the drums are somewhat quiet and tinny), and the general feeling on offer is of a talented, dedicated and one hundred percent convicted band of black metallers performing to the best of their abilities. The lyrics occasionally recall the venomous outpourings of Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, too!
Essential for true black metal fans.
9/10
Official Nehemah website
