Nifelheim "Envoy of Lucifer" (Regain)
By Cameron Higby-Naquin
Friday. May 23, 6:03 PM
Uncomplicated Satanic blackened thrash.

Nifelheim are an uncomplicated band. They do one thing and they do it well: Satanic, thrashy black metal. Envoy of Lucifer, the Swedish group's first full-length in seven years, begins with a raw-edged riff that burgeons into a jungle of aural chaos whose speed and intensity rarely abate over the next 45 minutes. Once you've listened to opener "Infernal Flame of Destruction," you have experienced virtually every technique that Nifelheim have to offer on this album: rough and buzzy leads, blazingly fast guitars and drums, slower and sinister interludes, and raspy screams extolling the mighty glory of Satan.

On every song that follows, the same elements are used in slightly different arrangements to form a new slab of steaming, scorching metal. The results are somewhat mixed, though it is difficult for me to single out any individual track for exemplary or unsatisfactory sound: they're all too much alike. The vocalist and lyricist, Hellbutcher, has helpfully included the names of the songs in prominent, repeated chants for several of the tracks. This was my main method of distinguishing the tracks. The name "Belial" comes up a couple of times, which made it a little tricky to remember which song "Belial's Prey" was, until I realized it was actually the best on the album. Starting off with a dominant riff that continues to build and build, the track weaves through eerie leads and frenzied shrieks before reaching a crushing climax that paves the way for the bleak closer "No More Life." On a record of songs cut from the same cloth, that one stands out from the rest.

You might think that Nifelheim are being a little uncreative by employing the same basic template for almost all of their songs, but they're not. They're being uncomplicated. Envoy of Lucifer is not an album you listen to for its creativity. It is an album you listen to for its unrelenting, overwhelming force. Those who are willing to follow in its path will surely delight in the mayhem, but others will wish the path took a few more interesting twists and turns on its straight and narrow journey to Hell.
hem.bredband.net/autopsy/sidorna_/index2.html
www.regainrecords.com

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Cameron Higby-Naquin

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