Artist: Nachash
Country: Norway
Label: Signal Rex
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
Somehow Nachash escaped me entirely. Despite it featuring a member of two of my favorite Terratur Possessions bands, Knokkelklang and Askeregn. And the connections of the three members to bands like Syning, Celestial Bloodshed, Black Edifice and a few other noteworthy Norwegian bands. Or the release of their sophomore record ‘Eschaton Magicks‘ by the quality label Signal Rex. As 2025 draws to a close, I have one final shot to redeem myself by dissecting their latest record.
To be fair, the Oslo-based band hasn’t been all too active, releasing just an EP and two albums since its inception in 2011. And the seven-year period that preceded this second album didn’t help matters either. But it certainly gave the band time to hone their new tunes. Material that, in comparison to most of their other bands, certainly takes Black Metal into a rather different direction.
‘Eschaton Magicks’ isn’t an album that’s likely to be labeled as traditional Norwegian Black Metal, and as a whole is quite far away from most of the bands mentioned earlier in this review. The guitar sound definitely gives it a typical Norwegian edge, but musically the Black Metal pillar comes more from Southern Europe, harboring the melodicism that typified the Hellenic scene of the early 90’s without the (obvious) use of keyboards. This indeed comes with a strong Heavy Metal connotation, in the melodic riffs, but also in the drum pace. In addition, there is a strong overlap with 80’s Teutonic Thrash Metal, as well as the German bands that added a Blackened touch to their homeland’s Thrash Metal such as Desaster and Cruel Force. Even the vocals have a slight growling edge to them. Indeed, the band labels themselves as Deathly Black Metal, a fitting term for music that transcends traditional Norwegian Black Metal.
Yet compared to the previous full-length ‘Phantasmal Triunity’ the music of Nachash has gained quite some aggression and velocity. While the preceding record had a lot in common with the more epic Immortal albums or even the I album ‘Between Two Worlds’, ‘Eschaton Magicks’ has a stronger sense of urgency to it. You could call it a slight shift from the more epic, Hellenic sound to the aggression of the 80’s German scene. In addition, the vocals are a bit gnarlier than on the preceding record. Yet the emphasis on embedded melody in the riffs remains, and the music has a certain entrancing, mesmerizing or Mediterranean character to it. With plenty of room for the bass, this all combines into an album that is evidently distinct from your typical Norwegian Black Metal band. But rest assured, it does not come at the cost of their typical quality.
In fact, Nachash sound extremely refreshing. Catchy, a bit warmer and more melody-centered yet with the aggression of the 80’s and early 90’s, ‘Eschaton Magicks’ is a simply excellent record. Perhaps in an unexpected manner, but nonetheless not a surprise, considering the impressive resumes of the members involved. So maybe I was a little late to the party, but I’m certainly glad the band eventually landed on my radar. I won’t make the mistake of overlooking them again!
