Review: Nokturnal Mortum - “The Voice Of Steel” (2009)
Nokturnal Mortum’s album hasn’t left my CD player since I got it, which isn’t too surprising. Despite coming out near the end of last year, The Voice of Steel was quickly hailed as one of the best of 2009, and rightfully so. What I found much more shocking was both how amazingly well-crafted and how accessible the songs on this album are. This is one of those albums where not only is each song unique and memorable, but there isn’t a single weak track. And while folk melodies and traditional instruments abound on The Voice of Steel, as one would expect from a Ukrainian pagan black metal band, Nokturnal Mortum often strays into traditional heavy metal territory in several places on the album, giving the songs a much broader appeal.
After a suitably folkish intro, the pounding rhythms of the title track give way to flourishing traditional melodies, vocal chants and Varggoth’s manic screams. But even in the opening riffs of this song, the rhythm section and bassline are surprisingly basic. With the bluesey guitar solos near the end of ‘Valkyrie’, the infectious vocal melodies of ‘Ukraine’, and the powerful opening riff in ‘By The Path of The Sun,’ Nokturnal Mortum continue this perfect balance of pagan black metal stylings and irresistable listenability.
Perhaps the most unexpected track is the powerful closer ‘White Tower’, which starts softly before building into a simple melody backed by a driving guitar riff and an understated rock beat from drummer Balroth as well as the usual vocal assault from Varggoth. The vocals and rather sorrowful melodic lines inject enough of a black metal aesthetic into the song to keep it from sounding too out of place, but clearly this is a song that precious few other bands could pull off.
If I had to come up with a gripe about the album it would be that some of the songs might have been better with a minute or two shaved off. As it is each of the metal songs on the album runs at least 8 minutes, but then again Nokturnal Mortum generally make excellent use of these minutes, with most songs evolving and featuring lengthy bridges or well-placed solos. The Voice of Steel is just extremely well constructed overall. Necessary listening!
