Reviews: Noctule, Silver Talon, Nephila, Cross Vault (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Noctule - Wretched Abyss (Church Road Records)

For anyone who has played a lot of the video game Skyrim, you will almost certainly associate it with frozen winter peaks, epic fantasy battles, witchcraft and the heavy use of Norse mythology throughout. All of which makes for perfect black metal fodder. Svalbard co-guitarist/vocalist Serena Cherry has said that Skyrim for her embodies all of these things and that she associates it with black metal more than any other style of music. As such she has used her love of the game to inspire this, debut album of her black metal solo project Noctule. Lyrically drawing from the world of Skyrim and musically having the dense, foreboding, harshness of Scandinavian black metal. Written and recorded throughout the 2020 lockdown Wretched Abyss is the sort of one-person black metal record that many would aspire to make but few manage. 

It's densely woven music, that at times is as cinematic as the game itself, the large instrumental sections holding it together like a soundtrack of blast beats and tremolo riffing bolstered by the orchestral swathes as the revereb-filled but clear screams pierce the musical wall. Serena clearly understands what can make black metal so fulfilling to listen too, avoiding too many of the rinse and repeat, songwriting tropes and more importantly forgoing the need to make things sound 'raw', there is a sense of D.I.Y grit to the recording, to make it authentic, but it doesn't feel like it was recorded in a bathroom. A track such as Labyrinthian is a epic, piece with lots of  brilliant lead guitar breaks, even as it breaks down into folksy acoustics, the sheer musical power is obvious.

The way Wretched Abyss is structured and composed, it works as companion piece to the game itself almost, displaying the dual nature of black metal from the harsh, desolate noise of the originators to the more multifaceted sounds of the bands that came later (or indeed just the career of Darkthrone). The title track for instance has echoed vocals and blistering blastbeats, but some classic metal lead guitars to make for an absorbing listen, that deviates into something a little different on Evenaar forging a path out of just being 'standard' black metal, creating atmospheres that linger long after the end of the record, especially when final track Become Ethereal is a plaintive piano piece ending the record with an emotional note. Wretched Abyss is a brilliant black metal offering from Serena Cherry, a measuring stick for one-person BM projects to come! 9/10    

Silver Talon - Decadence & Decay (M-Theory Audio) [Matt Bladen]

Created as a vehicle to showcase the guitar wizardry of Bryce VanHoosen (ex-Spellcaster) and soaring vocals of Wyatt Howell, Silver Talon are muscular addition to the NWOTHM sound, with a distinctly American style of thrashy, doomy, riff friendly power metal. Think Nevermore/Sanctuary, Savatage and I*ed E*rth but also some Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest and Accept as well. It's with these influences that will be where your head should be as soon as you press play on this record. I mean record here as well because the physical release of Decadence & Decay seems to focused on a 12 inch vinyl (along with cassette). 

Bryce VanHoosen has made sure that Silver Talon is all about the guitars as he is one part of a triple axe attack accompanied by Sebastian Silva and Devon Miller. This triple guitar assault means that tracks such as Resistance 2029 are as heavy as hell, with lots of solo breaks, this track particularly going one better by adding a special guest solo from King Diamond's Andy LaRocque. But it also means songs such as What Will Be have dense layers of instrumentation. With three guitarists it's up to the rhythm section of Walter Hartzell (bass) and Michael Thompson (drums) to be impressive and they certainly are adding a progressive tone to As The World Burns which is a Nevermore song by another name, while they blast away merrily on the thrashy Divine Fury. 

Before this debut full length Silver Talon covered a Sanctuary song, with Jeff Loomis no less, so it's safe to assume the Wyatt Howell has the chops to live up to Warrel Dane, his wide vocal range shifting from snarls to ear piercing screams. You can hear all the full range on the aggressive Kill All Kings. Decadence & Decay is a guitar-fueled riot of dark and heavy power metal, gets your head banging. 7/10

Nephila - Nephila (The Sign Records)

With members from sunshine psych rockers Children Of The Sün, Nephila play a similar kind of Hippie-era psychedelic/progressive rock from the Woodstock generation. A seven member band featuring two female vocalists in harmonic unison while the masked instrumental members ooze out a theatrical style of space rock that's a little bit of Uriah Heep Jefferson Airplane, some Hawkwind and even a bit of Hendrix too on Guidance To Agony. This self titled record is their debut full length and starts us off on the cosmic journey with first single White Bones, introducing you to the bands experimental blues style, fuzzy clean guitar melodies and lots of Hammond organs get the track rumbling, driven by the the pulsating bass. 

There's an insistence to this track that suits it to being an opener, it does what you need it to do, bringing Nephila's core approach, following on is the riffier Who Are You which features jazzier textures and some Wurlitzer-styled organs. It's the first song where both singers are in full unison, their voices working well of each other bulking out the theatrical sound to the band, similar to fellow Swedes Goat but without the frenzied assault they bring. Nephila choose to be more laid back, still muscly but more laid back washing over you with the quirky Mushroom Creatures and the witchy Belladonna. Unashamedly retro, this kind of 60's/70's influenced sound is yet another style of music the Swedes do well and Nephila prove this again. 7/10  

Cross Vault - As Strangers We Depart (Iron Bonehead Records)

If ever there was a band who epitomise these often desolate, uncertain times then it's German doom crew Cross Vault. Their third record, As Strangers We Depart, is dressed in a beautiful but upsetting cover painting by WÆIK and the music on it is equally stirring yet harrowing. Moments of acoustic beauty such as on Ravines, which I believe features a zither or as the Greeks call it a cithara, are washed away with the colossal, all-consuming doom riffs and mournful vocals, that keep the flame of British doom legends Warning, the 8 minute Golden Mending really coming across. Cross Vault having that same emotional touch that makes grown men weep at the hopelessness of it all. Even on shorter songs like As Strangers We Depart there;'s that lingering sense of complete desolation of as they put it "A home that never was". 

Performing under just letters, with the exception of their drummer aptly named Skullsplitter, it maintains the anonymity of the band and adds to the air of mystery cast over this record for the better. On the longer tracks, 6 minute plus, the dynamics of the bands playing are on display, the thunderous rhythm section of M (rhythm guitar), F (bass) and the previously mentioned Skullsplitter (drums) add glacial bone crushing riffs to Gods Left Unsung as N's vocals have a low croon with grit on Other Rivers. They aren't all about the low end doom though as lead guitarist G soars on The Unknown Rewinds and elsewhere adding melody and melancholy equally. As Strangers We Depart is an excellent doom metal album, full of touching and powerful moments, it brims with an energy and emotion that many doom bands don't have. 8/10