Nachtmystium - Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. 2

Anytime an album starts out with a processed drum beat and what eventually becomes an evil-sounding Sesame Street alphabet recitative I get worried. I can honestly say this is a first for me, this inauspicious beginning.

Chicago’s Nachtmystium adds a part to its Black Meddle lineage with Addicts: Black Meddle pt. 2 and it pretty much picks up right where the last one left off, which is in the middle of just okay. Where once the band was one of the up-and-comers for the typically laughable U.S. black metal scene, Nachtmystium has managed to go the way of Anathema by completely altering its sound, though unlike Anathema the results are less than stellar.

What has happened here is a continuation of the trippy black sound the band first showcased on Assassins: Black Meddle pt. 1, yet there seems to be something even larger missing. I understand the desire to change the sound from the typical black metal sound as it’s been utterly brutalized by trend-hoppers and idiots since Darkthrone and Burzum revitalized it during the second wave, but in the case of current Darkthrone and Nachtmystium the change is all-too ineffectual to resonate. While not completely mundane (“Then Fires” is pretty good) Addicts just falls completely flat in its entirety, offering little in way of the solid metal music the band is more than capable of producing. Blake Judd’s vocals sound too processed to really enjoy. I think of Varg Vikernes’ effort on Filosofem as a reference, yet what Vikernes lacked in vocal style was made up for with the atmospheric, lush music. On that note the music on Addicts is bland, never really attaining any sort of character with which to compliment. It’s almost a droning, forced effort that never catches flight for my tastes.

I guess I keep thinking of the solid tracks from past albums like “Come Forth, Devastation” and “A Seed for Suffering” from the self-titled EP and Instinct: Decay respectively. The track “Addicts” is a prime example of the dramatic change in the band’s style, and, again, while I understand the need to “grow” and “expand” as artists the line is not usually this blurred when it comes to a shifting of gears. For me the music runs together as one long effort that might appeal to fans of the faux 60’s metal style, but says little else about the majesty this band has had and could still have in its weaponry arsenal.

It just doesn’t do anything for me, I’m sorry to say. The band deserves to channel into something so much larger.

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*Comments:

June 26, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

Release Date: June 8, 2010
Label: Century Media

TRACK LISTING

1.  Cry For Help
2.  High On Hate
3.  Nightfall
4.  No Funeral
5.  Then Fires
6.  Addicts
7.  The End Is Eternal
8.  Blood Trance Fusion
9.  Ruined Life Continuum
10.  Every Last Drop

Total playing time:  48:01