Nocturnal Depression
Nostalgia - Fragments of a Broken Past

The musical characteristics of Depressive black metal are quite difficult to define. On one hand, the genre presents themes such as melancholy, loneliness, despair, death, suicide, and predominantly uses wrenching screams, sharp sounds marked by high pitch distortions, intentionally confused recording, unpolished and not entirely clean, and usually dark and claustrophobic atmospheres, it can vary significantly. In fact, there are those who play Depressive black metal still very aggressive, where the sharp riffs typical of black metal give way to oppressive and dark guitar loops, or those who adopt a sound closer to the European one with slow and decaying guitar riffs and a slow and subdued rhythm; other groups belonging to the European scene instead adopt rhythms less tied to traditional black, much slower and obsessive. Especially flourishing is the French scene where the genre is slowly evolving, enriching the traditional sound with new instruments like piano and acoustic guitars. One of the most significant groups of this stylistic evolution is Nocturnal Depression.

Nocturnal Depression is a duo from Grenoble, born in 2004 as a Black Metal band; in the same year they released two demos in this genre: "Suicidal Thoughts" and "Near to the Stars". In 2005 however, with "Soundtrack for a suicide", the group shifts its themes and sounds towards other darker, more sorrowful "directions"... In 2006, the duo released the first official Full-length album "Nostalgia - Fragments Of a Broken Past", an album rich in deformed and excruciating melodies, with a raw production which makes it even more "darkly" interesting and fascinating. This album is characterized by deep tracks like wounds, often dominated by the piano which serves as the main instrument, where a minimalist guitar at most, not always precise and followed by a wrenching and sick voice, intervenes in the overall sound of the work. This all creates obsessive melodies laden with sadness, despair, and hatred, which in some tracks, like "Nostalgia", make it difficult to hold back tears.

The first track, "And Fall The February Snow" opens with the sound of wind through the treetops and the calm, melancholic, and almost sweet plucking of a guitar. Particularly ethereal is the female voice that between whispering and singing infuses an aura of "greyness". It's a suggestive track that almost seems to console the listener from the sadness with which this work is steeped. Mid-track, the electric guitar emerges from the depths along with Lord Lokhraed's raspy and rotten scream and Herr Suizid's drums, keeping a rhythm between anxious and brisk, although the initial melody remains present until the end of the track.

The second track, "A Life To Suffer" is the longest of the first part of the album: 15 minutes and 13 seconds of dragged, decadent, repetitive melodies (partly influenced by doom) and sound slowdowns to which the filtered voice and suffering scream adhere closely aligned with the track's own title. But the most touching parts of the track are the central section where the song seems to almost stop, dying in a brief silence and then coming back to life thanks to the piano aided by the guitar, always accompanied by harrowing screams, and the end where the electric guitar riffs seem to invoke the rain, merging and disappearing into the storm.

With "Intermezzo Pt. I - Fragments Of The Past" comes a moment of rest since the album started. Despite its obsessive and repetitive "simplicity," it proves to be one of the most successful tracks of the entire work, "haunted" by eerie and distant whispers...

The subsequent "Suicidal Metal Anthems" is nothing more than a tribute to the French duo's favorite bands (including Nargaroth and Burzum), blending various Black metal soundscapes and even a bit of ambient in the final part of the track.

"Intermezzo Pt. II - Lie Broken And Lifeless", like the 3rd track, is characterized by calmer melodies in which the piano predominates and the desperate tones of Lokhraed's voice. This interlude introduces us to the third part of this intimate work.

Finally, the title track "Nostalgia" is presented. A unique, challenging, and heavy song of a full 20 minutes and 34 seconds which encapsulates within it the meaning and essence of the entire album, characterized by calm piano melodies like those of the two interludes, and at the same time, by melodies with a much more depressive and violent character. The text of extreme surrender to this despair that tears the soul makes this album a work completely immersed in sadness and suffering.

The closure of this work is entrusted to "In My Dreams" in which the dirty scream, experimental, oneiric atmospheres, and raw, distorted guitar riffs spread into almost electric air through penetrating and oppressive echoes, projecting us elsewhere compared to this human reality toward arcane depths.

In conclusion, "Nostalgia - Fragments of a Broken Past" is not a record for everyone; the genre in question, deliberately raw home recording, lyrics expressing strong inner pain, the "moribund" and sick voice, and especially the atmosphere of degeneration that is felt from song to song, offer the right listener an unhealthy and unforgettable experience.