Review Summary: An exceptional release combing Black Metal/Death Metal/Jazz/Folk/Viking Metal/Classic Rock/African Tribal/etc...
When it comes to Avant-Garde Black Metal, the genre is quite often hit or miss depending on what bands you listen to. You have excellent groups such as Arcturus or Sigh, who incorporate non-Black Metal traits into their sound so seamlessly it still somehow fits without detracting from the high quality of their music. Then you have less than admirable bands such as Aarni or ARV, who still don't yet have the skill and capacity to bring in deliberate non-Black Metal traits without having it sound awkward or out of place. The relatively unknown Nocte Obducta, a German based band formed in 1995 could perhaps be the very best purveyors of the genre, ranking high in the upper-echelons of the Avant-Garde influenced Black Metal. Their breath-taking fifth album
Nektar: Teil 1 - Zwölf Monde, Eine Hand voll Träum is a whirlwind perfectly executed Avant-Garde Black Metal, that no doubt proves Nocte Obducta to be the finest of their kind.
Many may be apprehensive to dig into the musical smorgasbord that is Nocte Obducta's
Nektar: Teil 1 - Zwölf Monde, Eine Hand voll Träum, but after even the most minimal taste test, it is almost guaranteed that the listener will be going back for seconds, thirds, and even some dessert. What makes this album even more delicious is the wild variety to be found on it.
Frühling: Des schwarzen Flieders Wiegenlied opens as an epic Black Metal track, melodic, tremolo picked guitars, lightning fast drums and perfect, light atmospherics harmonizing with the guitar line. From there however, the tune changes completely, bringing in 80's inspired thrash guitar to the table, complete with palm muted power chords and deep pinch harmonics. Now while this is one of the easier transitions on the album, it is also one of the most scarce. Rarely do the transitions make sense in terms in genre relation, yet somehow the band makes it work. In third track
Sommer: In Einem Mittsommernachtsschatten begins at the pace of a funeral doom crawl, yet throughout the entirety of the track, the band manages to squeak in moments of raw Black Metal, calming ambiance and even great some pseudo-jazz clean guitar work.
Another great aspect of the album is the stunning musicianship displayed by each, single member. Guitarists Marcel V.A. Traumschänder and Stefan, are obviously quite gifted guitarists in many different genres, easily shifting from one to another without encountering an awkward transition. On tracks like
Winter: Dezembermond they are playing blood pumping, razor sharp Black Metal riffs one second, then melodic, soothing Pink Floydian clean chords the next. Drummer Matthias Rodig also does a great job on the album, showing that drums can be just as diverse as any other instrument.
Sommer: In Einem Mittsommernachtsschatten displays some excellent jazz styled drumming, that will no doubt have your head bobbing in syncopation with it, while
Frühling: Des schwarzen Flieders Wiegenlied's midsection even features some African style tribal bongos. Time changes are numerous on this album, but Mr.Rodig always manages creates a fill or roll that puts him on perfect time, never losing the pace of the other instruments.
Vocally, lead singer Torsten der Unhold uses a much more Death Metal oriented vocal delivery than Black Metal. Majority of the time his phlegm filled growl would not seem out of place in Dark Tranquility song, yet he also manages to pull off some Black Metal type screeches quite well. While there is nothing extra special about Torsten's vocals, they are strong and most fitting to the chaotic music whirling around him. Atmosphere is also a big part of the album and keyboardist Flange does a perfect job of creating some truly melancholic melodies. Some parts of his playing seem more joyous (
Herbst: Lenkte Einsam Meinen Schritt...) others feature scarily depressing sections. While the bass during the more intense metal sections is sadly mostly drowned out, during the calmer jazz/ambient/African Tribal/folk/etc... sections Patrick Baumann's playing is quite up-front in the mix, and always ready to meet whichever genre the music has changed course to.
In the year 2004, Nocte Obducta released an epic, fun and most certainly adventurous masterpiece of an album in the form of
Nektar: Teil 1 - Zwölf Monde, Eine Hand voll Träume. Amongst the myriad of Dimmu Borgirs, Wykked Wytchs, and Cradle of Filths of the world a true Black Metal gem was released and sadly, has gone on to be almost completely unnoticed by fans of the genre world-wide. Hopefully in the year 2010, a full six years after its fantastic release this band and album will finally find it's way into the annals of Black Metal history.
