NYCTOPHOBIA
Ritual II - The Will Of Darkness
(Negra Nit Distro)
31:14min

Another fairly new Spanish Black Metal band rises from the dark crypts with a fresh release. Three years after their demo “Ritual I – Summoning The Abyss", the Catalan four piece NYCTOPHOBIA releases its second strike, pretty logically titled “Ritual II – The Will Of Darkness”. And what do they have to give to those hungry for the black side of the moon? Well, nothing really new. Mainly fast songs with simple guitar riffs, some slower and mid paced breaks and a very Nordic understanding for melody fragments. Even though this sounds pretty ordinary, the first song (after a too long intro) knows to please the ears. ‘Earthbound’ is nothing spectacular, but this rather long one sounds fresh and, in a good way, familiar. Somehow this songs calls forth a certain “Transilvanian Hunger” in me… The following two long songs ‘Dead Tongues’ and ‘Embers Dawn’ strike a similar path, with just some more breaks and a little bit more influenced by the mighty DISSECTION. Yet these don’t really convince completely, unlike ‘The Idiot-Crawling Chaos’. It’s the longest song here (more than seven minutes) and the most complex as well, with lots of breaks and changes of speed. Another highlight on this second ritual of NYCTOPHOBIA. In the end, ‘Night Of Witchcraft’ can’t really keep that level, although this fast paced is a nice finale for a record that delivered more than it promised. If you became curious, visit the band at: www.facebook.com/nyctophobia.metallnegre, or check their bandcamp site, where you can get their demo for free. And visit the label at: http://negranit.paura.cat

Thomas Meyer

Thomas Meyer

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