Negator
Old Black

With Negator, a new band of German origin joins those already present in the realm of Black Metal, and we can't help but be happy about it because these new guys play Black Metal well.

The CD is released by Remedy Records, a label that thus approaches the subgenre thanks to the four Germans, demonstrating a good knack for finding new talent. "Old Black" doesn't reveal everything about the album's content or the thoughts of the musicians who skillfully brought it to life. In fact, we are faced with Black Metal that ranges from rotten and dark riffs to faster and colder moments, and finally to atmospheres strongly influenced by the vision once held by the "Decadents".

The drums show impressive character, unwavering in the face of numerous tempo changes and sound themes, moving forward, adapting perfectly to every circumstance, in every subtle variation. The bass similarly makes itself heard with strong strokes, reminiscent of the past and those Black groups, fathers of modern sounds where guitars seem to prevail (nothing against it, by the way, NDA); it is always the bass that so vigorously accompanies the drums, like two war machines that sweep everything in their path.

The album evolves into increasingly gloomy notes, into particular and sometimes austere melodies, the result of riffing endowed with considerable expressiveness. As mentioned, it's the decadence inspiration that is the innovative element of this first full-length by Negator, making the entire work even more interesting and engaging. In this way, there is, in the atmospheres, in the "taste" experienced during each composition, and in the final result, a view stretched towards a new future, not just a gaze admiringly looking back to beautiful and rich previous years, but which, as the word itself says, are "past" and cannot always be relived tediously with the same elements. Negator has understood this wisely and has avoided a simple reinterpretation of what bands like Mayhem or the Swedish Dawn were, using old-style Black Metal that features numerous innovations.

They start without fears or apprehensions with "Science Of Nihil," which, as expressed in the name, risks leaving listeners "annihilated" with its very fast and raw start, only to stop after a few minutes to think, but only briefly; in fact, a furious drum announces the return of destruction, so much so that it doesn't allow grass to regrow in its passage, as they say happened after the passage of Attila. And it's not over yet; "Free Bird" and "Der Infanterist" lurk around the corner, bringing forth other impressive compositional violence and glacialness that occupy everything, including our minds, leaving us with moments of restlessness and power.
The turning point comes with the interlude titled "Interludium," an instrumental piece lasting a minute that hints, with its almost gothic style, at a change of space and time. And everything that was anticipated happens punctually, "Katharsis" presents itself to us as "The Decadent Piece" par excellence, the change of atmosphere has thus occurred. The sensation of something dying and negativism emerges, describing a flower that wilts and slowly collapses to the ground, devoid of sap. It's the moment for innovations to the traditional sound of the past, and "Vernuft 1.0" is so particular in its systematic changes of rhythm and riffs that it becomes a fascinating track, especially in the finale that descends fast and slow at the same time.

We move to "In The Unholy Halls Of Eternal," the penultimate song of the CD and as peculiar as the previous one, with the same rhythm changes dictated by a drum perfectly in tune with the other instruments. Nachtgarm's screaming fits superbly into it all, a scream neither too violent nor inappropriate, nor equally heart-wrenching out of place. However, all things have an end, and the album has its own, but how better to conclude than with "Renegation." Already "Renegation," the most melodic and slow piece of the whole CD, capable of also delivering very fast and sudden strokes. The enchanting melodies take over, but certain accelerations of the usual great drum emerge to interrupt that melancholy quiet previously created by a highly inspired guitar. The piece at a certain point reaches its peak in speed, only to descend thanks to a final refrain that becomes an expression of the entire album.

Thus, I find myself recommending the experience of these musicians, Negator, excellent at expressing a certain involvement and a determined dose of sensations in their work, which truly spans numerous fields of Black Metal, both new and old.