Nokturnal Mortum
Lunar Poetry

Nokturnal Mortum formed in 1994 in Ukraine (Kharkiv), initially known as Suppuration, then Crystalline Darkness, Nocturnal Mortum, and finally under their current name. This group has a substantial following at home and is considered cult in all of Eastern Europe, but is relatively unknown and unappreciated in the rest of the world. This is not only due to their geographical origin, which keeps them a bit distant from the more well-known Black scene (the same fate for Lucifugum or Drudkh), but also because of the political ideologies that form the basis of most of their lyrics and inspire their music. They obtained their first response from audiences and critics in Western Europe with the release of their first full-length "Goat Horns" in 1997.

But let's go back to the origins of this distant group, and in particular to the third and last demo tape "Lunar Poetry," a black gem from 1996. The genre proposed by Nokturnal Mortum, from the outset, can always be classified within Black Metal, but it should also be noted how the Ukrainian group has often experimented with various influences in its sound. Each album of the band indeed reflects various and primarily folk influences that direct the sound more towards a symphonic base, leading us towards sounds and rhythms typical of their homeland.
What distinguishes Nokturnal Mortum from other more symphonic Black Metal groups is the use of keyboards: while other projects use them almost as a "guide" instrument and rely entirely on them solely to recreate a certain emphatic atmosphere, Nokturnal Mortum chooses a middle path. In fact, their music is guided by guitars, with keyboards integrated and fused in every smallest part of the riffs. Thus, a sort of symbiosis is created between the instruments aimed at creating evocative and particularly original melodies.

The demo tape opens with the bell tolls of "Tears Of Paganism," an ambient intro with eerie, dark, and haunting sounds on which a female voice seems to almost vocalize, slowly introducing us into a completely different dimension...

The intro is immediately followed by the first real track of the demo, "Lunar Poetry," a true nocturnal poetry where the fast, heavy, and wrenching riffs typical of Black Metal become more melodic thanks to the help of the keyboard, making each note and chord increasingly evocative. The melodies are supported by aggressive drums and a ferocious scream that among pagan sounds transforms into a clean voice; the Black guitar riffs by Warterax eventually convert into Heavy-leaning solos that abruptly end along with the rest of the track.

The third track, that is "Perun's Celestial Silver," opens with various unique sounds, immersing us into a wild lunar world, followed by guitars and Munruthel's drums; in this song, the versatility of Varggoth's voice stands out, capable of taking the high tones of the scream to the lower tones of the clean voice.

"Carpathian Mysteries" opens with a brief keyboard part not particularly impressive but later redeemed by the rest of the instrumentation. A very "galloping" and pressing rhythm seems to lead us towards the ancient mountains and mysterious forests of the Carpathians. Having reached our "destination," the track ends at 4 minutes and 38 seconds with peculiar otherworldly sounds...

"...And Winter Becomes" is the 5th track that distinctly divides the album in two. This is a track with a cold, frigid, and Nordic atmosphere also attributed to the splendid cover art. Keyboards and guitars continue to "dialogue," creating fascinating melodies.

Almost oriental sounds introduce "Ancient Nation," one of the most beautiful tracks of this work. The guitars, bass, drums, keyboard, voice, and various sounds perfectly combine in this track where, despite the non-English lyrics, "Ancient Nation!" shouted by Knjaz Varggoth can be well understood, as if it were an invocation to the ancient homeland of this great group.

In "The Grief Of Oriana," the drum and other almost unknown natural sounds dominate, among clean vocals and mystical and tribal vocalizations recreating an atmosphere of contemplation...

The penultimate track, "Sorrows Of The Moon," is a Celtic Frost cover well done, especially regarding the painful voice, where the melodic/folk touch of Nokturnal Mortum is very noticeable.

The work fades on the melodies of "Autodafe/Barbarian Dreams," a very beautiful outro where clean vocals and screams alternate between the riffs. At 4 minutes and 38 seconds, an atmospheric part begins, exalted at 6 minutes and 27 seconds by the beautiful clean whisper announcing the end of this "poetic" Demo.

With their first Demos and particularly with "Lunar Poetry," Nokturnal Mortum forcefully enters the pagan/folk scene with a sound where the keyboard does not "drown" the other instruments but instead integrates and blends with them, giving birth to a Symphonic Folk Black Metal that's anything but trivial but rather highly effective and always engaging.