CoC : Nokturnal Mortum - Lunar Poetry : Review

Nokturnal Mortum - _Lunar Poetry_
(The End, 2001)
by: Brian Meloon (8 out of 10)

This was Nokturnal Mortum's first album (not counting their _Twilightfall_ demo), and was originally recorded in 1996. This re-release also includes a track called "Return of the Vampire Lord", which was previously only released on a very rare split MC with Lucifugum. The style is similar to that of their brilliant _Goat Horns_ [CoC #31], though this album is not as refined and the songs are generally shorter. The music is brutal black metal with heavy use of keyboards and folky melodies. What really sets these guys apart is their use of keyboards. While other bands generally either use keyboards only for atmosphere or rely heavily on them to carry the music, Nokturnal Mortum choose the middle ground. Their music is guitar-driven, but the keyboards are integrated into everything they do. The songs are generally mid-paced, but show a wide variety in styles, due in part to the effective use of different keyboard sounds. While the production could be stronger, the playing is top-notch, with only a few clean vocal parts the only performance flaw I could find. For its time, this was an outstanding release, and even five years later, it's a pretty good record. In my opinion, it's even better than the new material from the band. Fans of melodic black metal should definitely check it out, though for those not familiar with the band, I'd suggest _Goat Horns_ first.

(article published 12/8/2001)

ALBUMS
2/14/2010	K Sarampalis	9.5	Nokturnal Mortum - The Voice of Steel
5/24/2005	Q Kalis	9	Nokturnal Mortum - Weltanschauung
11/29/2004	Q Kalis	7.5	Nokturnal Mortum - Twilightfall
10/14/2003	Q Kalis	8.5	Nokturnal Mortum - The Taste of Victory
8/12/2000	B Meloon	7	Nokturnal Mortum - NeChrist
3/14/1999	B Meloon	7	Nokturnal Mortum - To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire
6/7/1998	B Meloon	8	Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns