Lyaeus Nebularum
(Terror From Hell Records)
69:59min
Formed way back in 1991 this Italian band presents here a compilation of their early works in a CD that is almost 70 minutes long. Strangely enough it does not start in a chronological order, as the first 3 songs are from their 1996 EP and they are the ones which show more personality. Here we can listen to a Black / Death Metal band that is not afraid to add clear vocals, a lot of synths and acoustic passages, giving them a sound hard to compare, maybe think about Dutch Death / Doom bands like PHLEBOTOMIZED or BEYOND BELIEF mixed with a Greek sound à la early ROTTING CHRIST or SEPTIC FLESH and it will give you an idea. Tracks 4 and 5 are from another EP, from 1992, and here the sound is more Death Metal yet the Doom Metal influence is noticeable, and it shows their fascination with the mystic horrors and of course the evil old school Black Metal touches in the early SAMAEL vein are here. The last 6 songs belong to their 1994 demo. This has the lowest production values of all the recordings, yet keeps the same mystical style that they showed since the beginning. This is probably their most Doom Metal influenced material. This material has only been available in digital format before, so it is good to finally having it in a physical format, and definitely it is a piece for collectors for this band that released their debut album “Mors” in 2010 (which I am not sure if it is available in a physical form) in a quite similar style. Fans of blackened doomed Death Metal with that ancient feeling will surely find many interesting things in this band and hopefully we can hear more form this Italian magicians. www.facebook.com/nihililocus, www.tfhrecords.com
Julián “Lugubri Lai” Núñez