Nocte Obducta
Nektar: Teil 1

"Nettare, Chapter One: 12 Moons, A Handful of Dreams" is the penultimate album by the German band Nocte Obducta, navigating coordinates unknown to extreme metal; a sonic journey that is inseparable from the visual experience created in the listener's mind, painting a path that is above all personal, intimate, constructed during the passing minutes.

In fact, the group has always declared itself distant from any satanic content, preferring a higher level of writing that aims to explore the inner self, searching for metaphors, symbols, notes from a journey of self-exploration.

However, the lyrics are left in the native language, allowing each individual to immerse themselves in the ongoing experience as they prefer. The entire work is laden with additional symbolic values, relating to the theme of personal journey: it is a concept album about the passing of the seasons, with each season dedicated to a grand suite. The group wants the starting point to be common, once the theme is established, as the prompt for the performance: from this point on, however, it is the creative imagination of the listener that crafts the stories to fit within this chronologically defined context.

Spring (Frahling) is the most evocative moment of the experience. The track alternates according to the typical formula of Nocte Obducta, between metallic phases and calmer, more relaxed breaks. The heart of the track is built on the gentle rhythm of a hand-held tambourine, sounds created by cymbals and keyboards: one senses the slow awakening of the spirit of nature, which, like every year, returns to pulse after the end of winter: this hammering tambourine evokes the joyful diversity of creatures of the forest, from the white rabbit to the dancing satyr.

The rhythm crests: clear guitar chords begin to ripple the surface of ponds: the change doesn't happen in nature, but in man: the damned screaming and keyboards now bring back the human dimension. Nature rises and man falls; there is something chilling in this cynicism of life, which cyclically blooms again, absolutely indifferent to humanity, which must adapt from season to season, changing masks to keep up with the times.

"Nektar: Teil 1" will certainly appeal to those who usually appreciate my writings without having much in common with the groups discussed. I find it very difficult to define the group's style, as there are no precise references to the surrounding reality: the album, albeit released a few years ago, was composed in the early '90s, evidently ahead by about a decade. Indeed, in some respects, NO are among the precursors and leading exponents of the blend between Black and Death Metal that many define as Post-Black; a closer look at the wealth of influences and sounds flaunted by the group inclines toward the more vague but enticing definition of Avant-garde Black.

If I must think of groups that can shed light on this particular style, I inevitably have to mention albums like those by Arcturus, with whom they share genius and exquisite technique (more apparent in the Germans), and - why not? - with "Holy Land" by Angra, a multicolored fresco capable of spanning the most diverse solutions to recreate different sensations, ways of conceiving music. The rest of the album proceeds on parallel tracks, adopting different stratagems from time to time; the autumnal track (eight minutes, the shortest) mirrors the atmosphere of the spring one, adding a touch more color, that which life loses as winter approaches. These two pieces are the most metallic, rich with epic elements, where guitars duel with each other through intricate riffs: NO show that it is possible to play Black Metal in a distinctly different way from the Norwegian style without losing effectiveness, beauty, or class (something the Nordics themselves failed to do when they transitioned to this more modern style).

Then there are the two tracks entrusted with the depiction of Summer and Winter. I will deliberately spend few words here, hinting at the beauty of these pieces on one hand, and the difficulty of expressing such grandeur in words on the other. The guitar intricacies and symphonic black make the winter suite a classic yet immense piece; tempo changes mark the scorching summer, where there is also space for long refreshing rains, guided by a truly melancholic solo flow.

I am not surprised that I forgot the name of the latest by Dimmu Borgir.....