NIDINGR – Sorrow Infinite And Darkness

Hailing from Horten, Norway, this Black Metal trio has, after having existed for almost ten years, come up with a pretty impressive first album. Dødheimsgård, Satyricon, and maybe Mayhem are other reference points – this band has that cold, old-school sound with rapid guitars, blast beats, and some atmospheric keyboards in the background. The biggest difference compared to the aforementioned bands is the vocals, as they are much deeper than usual – almost Hardcore-ish with their deep scream/growl, but they work very well with this pretty intense music.

“Child of Silence” is the name of the opening track, and this is indeed a great way to open an album. It kicks off at warp speed, but is nicely arranged with groovy riff parts and some piano in the background. The guitars have sort of an Emperor feeling to them, although not that atonal as the legendary pioneers. The music isn’t too intricate, while never entering (as some say) cheesier Dimmu Borgir/Cradle of Filth territories; the production is way too hard and cold for that. The following trio – the title track, “Watchtowers of the Universe,” and “Makhashnah” are three more highlights in much of the same vein as the opener – an intense but catchy soundscape with rich arrangements and enough diversity to make the listener intrigued and curious all the way through.

“Righteousness in Beauty” is a bit weaker – the opening, mid-tempo riffing isn’t quite up to par, but the very melodic “Death and Victory” more than makes up for it. This is probably the catchiest song on the album, and really grabs your attention. Great stuff.

It’s not necessary to go more in-depth with this album – this is a great Black Metal album – one of the best to come out of the genre in recent years … and a must-have for every fan of the genre and Extreme Metal in general. The competent line-up of Teloch (former session guitarist with Gorgoroth) and Blargh sharing guitar and bass duties, and Cpt. Estrella Grasa, who is responsible for performing the original (in this genre) vocals should definitely be proud of their first born.