The word “Resilient” means able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions and is the title of the new EP by Nachtmystium. Now the band does have quite the history but I am not going to delve into that, you either know about it or you do not. For those eager to read on this is the first collection of brand new songs since The World We Left Behind in 2014.
Since then it has been no secret that Blake Judd has turned his life around for the better and there is no hiding the fact that he still possesses the ability to write some fantastic music. With that we have the subject of this review, Resilient.
Judd together with Job ‘Phenex’ Bos (Dark Fortress), Martin Van Falkenstein (The Ruins of Beverast), and Jean Graffio (Sumeria) this EP comes into light bearing 24 minutes of melancholic, emotional and cathartic tracks. Those who are long time fans will find the familiar Nachtmystium sound but with some surprises thrown in.
The title track is layered with keyboards and melodic guitar passages that work well with the familiar rasp of Judd’s vocals. The music presents a sense of sorrow mingled with inspiration, most notable in the lyric “Resilient survivor returns from hell”. The second half of the song is graced with low mournful clean vocals and a very catchy guitar hook that heightens the emotion of this track.
Silver Lanterns is a more upbeat track that is more reminiscent of past songs in Nachtmystium’s discography. Unlike the title track it is layered with dreamy yet furious guitar riffage and an overall feeling of hope and what one may experience once they are reaching the light at the end of the tunnel. It also features a spoken passage by Judd where he revisits his brush with a near death experience. It is clear that he has used this EP to describe his journey up until this point, and it is inspiring.
The final track Desert Illumination is a fantastic closer and probably my favorite. This really does paint the picture of that light at the end of the tunnel. There are spoken words on top of trippy psychedelic instrumentation that really do add a luminescent vibe. About midway however it speeds up and unleashes all its sonic fury to the masses, a perfect blend of synthesized Black Metal.
I normally do not like to write track by track breakdowns but I felt it would do this EP more justice. It is definitely worth listening to and marks the return of a noteworthy band. I hope there is more to come, and everyone deserves a second chance to shine and Nachtmystium have done just that.
Rating: 4.5/5
The Metal Wanderlust 