photo by Shane K. Gardner

The Maryland band Nixil have embraced, and luxuriated in, an alchemical approach to black metal on their debut album All Knots Untied. Formed by past or current members of Spectral Tombs, Tsepesch, Dagger Moon, and Corpse Light, this foursome reveal a spectrum of stylistic influences that (as the advance press correctly reports) might remind listeners “of the weirder side of Mayhem, the atmospheric expansiveness of French avant garde black metal a la Blut Aus Nord or Glorior Belli, and the moody, gothic depression of Bethlehem“.

Envisioned as “a manifestation of chaos, rage, strength, and despair” in the midst of “a toxic and crumbling world”, the album is a serious-minded but adventurous channeling of such sensations, though it’s not without infiltrations of the occult and the psychedelic as well.

We have a fine example of Nixil’s multi-faceted approach to the black arts in the song we’re presenting today, “May This Flame Flicker Out“, via a beautifully made video. Continue reading »