Nokturnal Mortum-The Voice of Steel (2009)



1. Інтро (Intro)
2. Голос Сталі (The Voice of Steel)
3. Валькирия (Valkyrie)
4. Україна (Ukraine)
5. Моєї Мрії Острови (My Dream Islands)
6. Шляхом Сонця (By Path of the Sun)
7. Небо Сумних Ночей (Sky of Saddened Nights)
8. Біла Вежа (White Tower)

Nokturnal Mortum is a well known name in the extreme metal genre. From 1994 and on, Nokturnal Mortum have brought us extreme metal music infused with black metal symphony and folklore. There have been minor line up changes throughout, however, I think this is the strongest line up change in a while. With every album their sound gradually changes so it comes to a no brainer that the music heard here has changed as well. Nokturnal Mortum include some experimentation of progressive, blues like, Pink Floydish interludes this time around and I will say it goes with the music perfectly. The vocals of Varggoth here seems more rough and beastly than ever with the epic music they have brought us. The Voice of Steel is definitely the best album they have put out to date in my opinion.

The Intro starts with birds chirping and a loud battle horn cry. It leads us into a mellow folk interlude with some drumming and sounds of steels being clanged towards the end. That leads us into the next track, The Voice of Steel. This song blends a mix of epic folk metal using some violin type traditional instruments and more. It's pretty mid tempo for the first bit but then speeds up into a symphonic madness of black metal. Some nice folky flutes take control behind the frenzy of it all and then goes back to the mid tempo sound. Pretty nice opener for the listener. Valkyrie is what starts the true epicness of this band. It starts with a pretty aggressive sound with brutal guitars and the hateful vox of Varggoth. This goes on for a while adding some atmosphere, synths, and even clean vocals. It slows down for a while bringing in some blues sounds into the mix with a consistent sound of guitars and atmosphere which later builds up slowly into the sounds of Nokturnal Mortum. Wow, I will say they pulled this off rather good. It flows really good with music. Violins introduce the next track on the album, Ukraine! Ukraine is a heart and dedicated song to their home country and the outcome is just that, fucking Epic. The chorus done in clean vocals gives the feeling of majestic awe. I don't know how to explain it. It's just that good. Superb musicianship all around. This one is definitely a soul stealer. Take a listen and be amazed.

Already halfway through the album and it's awesome. Next comes in My Dream Islands. This track introduces some progressive rock elements that run throughout the song. There are some more blues interludes during the slow downs but for the most part My Dream Islands is a mid paced song with strong vocals with little epicness. The song is more progressive. By Path of the Sun brings us back to that symphonic black metal sound we know from the band. The vocals here are a balance between clean and grunt, along with some blackened. They give the song definition. Some folky whistling instrument can be heard through out adding dimension to the already peak of this song. There is a nice little solo in the middle leading the song into an epic atmosphere of folky instruments and such. Nice touch. Next comes in the soundtrack-esque and beautiful sounds of Sky of Saddened Nights. This is a more mellow song done with clean vocals, some acoustic tremolo, and some chilling flute sounds and atmosphere. One word to describe this song is "cinematic" at one of highest peak of the mountains. Ambiance fills the air with The White Tower but that transgresses into a mellow acoustic of sound and build up with a little more blues tunes and progressive elements throughout. The song intertwines electric and acoustic throughout the middle which eventually leads to a melancholic sound of epicness.

Epic, how many times have I used that word to describe the sound here? Well, that is what to expect from The Voice of Steel. Never would of I thought Nokturnal Mortum could produce such a beautiful sound but I was proved wrong. Superb production and musicianship. The first 3-4 songs will definitely hit ya hard and will have you liking the album halfway. There are some lengthy songs but have little to none dullness. I think of all the time listening, there was only like about 1-2 minutes of the album I thought were bland. That is rare. Well, despite the controversy political views of this band, they sure know how to make music. I don't know if this can be topped but it's happened in the past so I will look forward to what Nokturnal Mortum come up with next. One of my top 10 albums of 2009 for sure.

Rating:

Myspace:Nokturnal Mortum

Review by Vyldr