Artist: Nihilvm
Country: Poland
Label: Malignant Voices / Terratur Possessions
Formats: CD
Year: 2025
The first release of Nihilvm was not what I expected. Released on the respected Black Metal label Malignant Voices, the pulverising formula of their ‘Life-Death-Empty’ EP sought the very boundaries of the Black Metal regions, traversing more into what we would be used to calling Death Metal. With the release of the debut album ‘Ancient Cosmic Emanation’, we may find ourselves in a similar situation of expectation. Not only is Malignant Voices releasing this record, Terratur Possessions have now also joined the party. Is Nihilvm redefining themselves, the labels, or is it time to cast away our narrow-mindedness?
Listening to the EP and album side by side, it is immediately clear that ‘Ancient Cosmic Emanation’ presents a logical continuation of the path set forth on ‘Life-Death-Empty’. At the very basis of the music is a guitar sound that is rich and heavy and would more commonly be associated with Death Metal. It reminds me of a band like Sulphur Aeon, in particular because Nihilvm has a similar rolling play of pace as the Germans. This notion of Death Metal is further enforced by vocal parts that lean more towards growling, although the vocals of Nihilvm are highly versatile. They’re alternated with deranged chanting, preaching almost, and at times remind me of Behemoth’s Nergal, or KzR of Bølzer. Yet these associations is not where the musical story of Nihilvm ends. Embedded in the music of the band are riffs that one would call typically Black Metal. Be it tremolo melodies, sinister strumming or just simple chord progressions, the Black Metal aura seeps through in each of the tracks on the album. In a track like ‘Srebrzyste ostrza gwiazd’ this may be more obviously at the forefront, but the Black Metal aesthetics are deeply woven into each of the tracks on the record. Indeed, this marriage of Death and Black Metal might remind of the likes of the aforementioned Sulphur Aeon and Dead Congregation, but Nihilvm leans slightly more towards the Blackened half of the spectrum, avoiding any direct comparisons with others. Indeed, this one of those cases where our endless focus on trying to put music in a box is too limiting.
The heavy guitar sound is mixed with restless and creative drums and a wide array of vocals. This leads to a rather overwhelming sound, commanding and crushing. While the tempo rarely accelerates into the highest speed echelons, the wild nature of the percussion and the vocals combined with the heavy production give the music its sense of pressurising unease. These are contrasted by the more subtle guitar leads that levitate between eerie accents and more melodic notes. In a song like ‘Transcendencja’ a gentle solo offers that richness of disparity with the overpowering sound that conjures a sense of fascination in the music. Melodies may otherwise be more buried, like in ‘Zjadacze światów’, a more chugging and threatening song. Each of the tracks on ‘Ancient Cosmic Emanation’ make it clear that there is a high degree of sophistication contained within the music of Nihilvm. They are not a band that will throw endless riffs at you, yet by varying the vocals, the pace and twisting layers of the guitar, they create a crushing and compelling amalgam of Death and Black Metal. Music that casts away the shackles of genres and is brooding, foreboding and entrancing. At the end of the day, isn’t that exactly what we have come to expect from Malignant Voices and Terratur Possessions?
