Album Review: Niht – Arcanum (Ván Records)

Ván Records presents the sophomore full-length of German Black Metallers Niht, entitled “Arcanum”! Out on April 9th 2021.

Niht focus on delivering a scathing black metal experience; one routed in fear, hopeless and emptiness. The seven tracks of Arcanum burn with blistering intent but with an iciness rather than the fires of hell.

The raging fury is strong from the very start and rarely lets up. The guitars spinning wildly in the darkness, the thickness of the bass adding weight and the drums pounding away with glorious power. This is where the metal richness of their sound comes from. The vocals add the horror, layered over everything like the stink of death in a crypt. Harsh and often high-pitched, the gargling throat shredding style sounds downright painful.

All together though, Niht make it work and work very damn well. Perhaps the highlight coming later in the album though. After five frantic and frothing manic style tracks, Niht drop the tempo and introduce the phenomenonally dark and evil Wahn.

A twisted laugh then rings out and everything hots up but it’s as far from traditional as you can get, structure wise. Likewise the finale of Tod has a bit more atmosphere to it which is genuinely nice to hear at this stage.

There is a unique and interesting edge to Arcanum. The sort of thing that makes your ears perk up. It’s even more notable as black metal can be quite rigid and steadfast. Without moving far from the core sound, Niht have produced something interesting and exciting to hear.

Niht – Arcanum Full Track Listing:

1. Angst
2. Schmerz
3. Luge
4. Sucht
5. Hass
6. Wahn
7. Tod

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Ván Records