(Andy Synn descends into the depths of the new album from Germany’s Naxen, out tomorrow)
As I’ve said before, the Black Metal scene today – in all its myriad forms – is in such rude health that it seems like you can’t go more than a day without stumbling over a fantastic new artist or album to fall in love with.
The downside of this, however, is that with so much quality material on offer – from the rawest to the proggiest, and everything in between – it’s getting harder and harder for bands to stand out and make themselves heard.
But it’s clear that Naxen have been hard at work themselves over the last few years, carving out their own particular niche – somewhere between the hypnotic intensity of Mgła, the infectious energy of Woe, and the gloomy despondency of Ultha – where they can plant their seeds, nurture them, and watch them grow.
And the fruit of their labours – which we have the distinct pleasure of premiering for you all today – is their new album, Descending Into a Deeper Darkness.
As you might expect, given the quality of the names already mentioned in reference to Naxen‘s particular brand of sonic black magic – one whose alchemical blend of extroverted, riff-driven extremity and introspective, emotionally-heavy atmosphere has, on occasion, seen them tagged as DSBM (or, at least, DSBM-adjacent) despite the fact that their sound is altogether bigger and bolder than the majority of bands to whom that label more accurately applies – the trio’s execution across these four tracks is practically flawless.
From the absolutely massive guitars and menacing tremolo melodies of opener “Our Souls Shall Fall Forever” to the brooding majesty and bleeding misery of “To Writhe in the Womb of Night” and the electrifying, elemental ebb and flow of “A Shadow in the Fire – Pt. III” (whose impressively intricate drums serve as a major highlight in their own right) it’s clear that practically every aspect of this album – it’s raw power and refined precision, its fluid, shape-shifting songwriting and remorseless, razor-sharp hooks – is a huge step up from its predecessor.
But what puts this record over the top – Towards the Tomb of Times was good, no doubt, but Descending into a Deeper Darkness is just that much better – is the sheer weight of emotion, the unrelenting angst and anguish, desperation and despair, backing every raging riff, every pulse-pounding percussive pattern (have I mentioned just how good drummer Farin Hahn is?), and every hair-raising howl and heart-wrenching shriek.
And nowhere is this more apparent than during “Triumphant Tongue of a Thousand Swords”, as while ultra-hyped up-and-comers Agriculture may have become the talk of the town for coining the term (which quickly became a meme) “Ecstatic Black Metal”, nothing they’ve done so far (although I’ll definitely be saying more about their new EP next week) has yet to come close to the agony and the ecstasy of this album’s phenomenal, fourteen-minute finale.
But you don’t have to take my word for it – you can no listen to the entire album in full right here for yourselves in advance of its release tomorrow on Vendetta Records.