This is the third album from Nightgrave, a one man atmospheric black metal band.
Not content with releasing the extremely competent Nascent earlier this year, it seems that the prolific Nightgrave has already released a new album in the shape of Black Earth.
This latest album further develops the atmospheric black metal style that we’re familiar with from Nightgrave’s earlier work, replete with post-black metal and doom elements. I’d say that the post-black metal influences are definitely in ascendance on these new tracks, however.
Black Earth is stylistically varied, with each song covering a lot of ground, all within the framework of atmospheric/ambient/post-black metal. Each track has its own character and feel, while still contributing to the whole and flowing well.
Yes, the creative, experimental side of this project’s sound has been emphasised on Black Earth, with different sonic avenues explored across the 36 minutes of material we have here. This results in a layered, rich album of songs to enjoy.
Black Earth is largely instrumental, although vocals do appear on Ashen Embrace, the album’s final track.
An enjoyable new release from this engaging project.
Wonderbox Metal 