Reviews: 025GD
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It’s almost like there are two different artists at work within Nocratai. Combining raw black metal and the thump of industrial metal, Nocratai have a sound all their own. New song “Jesus Creek” starts with blasts of noise and electronics before incorporating a pulsing beat and buzzsaw guitars. The pulsing tempo remains the same throughout the song, experimenting with break beats while incorporating blasts of black metal with throat-shredding vocals. “Jesus Creek” comes from Tormento, Nocratai’s first proper full-length despite being active for nearly twenty years.
https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2018/07/23/nocratai-eyes-christ/
Nearly 20 years have elapsed since Nocratai was given birth as a solo industrial black metal project under the construction of an individual who took the number “4” as his identification. It continued as a solo project until 2008, when it became a full band, and in that year released an EP named Camera Chiusa. Three years later the band recorded their first album — Tormento — but it remained un-released until now.
And now, or rather on July 24th to be precise, it will be revealed through the cooperative efforts of GrimmDistribution (Belarus), The Ritual Productions (Netherlands), and Black Metal Records (USA).
We present for you today a track from Tormento named “Miseria 6.66 MHZ“, which on the one hand is cold and oppressive, but on the other, is a head-moving display of menace and madness.
It takes a little time for the physically propulsive elements of the song to arrive. First, the band set the stage by creating a mood of horror through a collage of frightening sounds and a gasping, increasingly frantic and insistent voice, followed by a spoken-word sample (in Italian). And having put the frighteners on you, the band then get you moving, propelled by a pneumatic electronic beat and a skittering, jolting riff.
This doesn’t mean the horrors have gone away, or that the disease has been cured. Ugly, bestial vocals and the demented shimmer of a guitar make sure of that, along with additional vocal samples, the swirl of preternatural tones, and an insectile, pulsating lead.
The releasing labels recommend Tormento for fans of Mysticum, Blacklodge, and old Aborym. You can pre-order via the links below, and we’re including the previously released track “La Danza Della Morte” along with our premiere of “Miseria”.
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2018/07/11/an-ncs-premiere-nocratai-miseria/
Nocratai are a band from Italy that plays an industrial form of black metal and this is a review of their 2018 "Tormento" which was released as a joint effort between Grimm Distribution, The Ritual Productions and Black Metal Records.
Atmospheric soundscapes start off the album along with some evil laughter a few seconds later while spoken word samples are also used on a few tracks before adding some industrial elements which also mixing in with the heavier sections of the music which also introducing grim black metal screams onto the recording.
Some of the tracks are very long and epic in length while the music also uses a great amount of programming and noise elements along with the songs also get very experimental at times as well as all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them, when guitar leads are finally added onto the recording they re done in a very melodic style and the music sticks to mostly a mid tempo style and on the closing track they also add in some of the riffing and vocals from Darkthrone's "Transilvanian Hunger".
Nocratai plays a musical style that takes industrial and black metal and mixes them together to create a sound of their own, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover war, anti religion and destruction themes.
In my opinion Nocratai are a very great sounding mixture of industrial and black metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band.
http://darkdoomgrinddeath.blogspot.com/2019/01/nocrataitormentogrimm-distributionthe.html
А не хотите ли поговорить об индустриальном блэк металле? Я хочу. Ок, начинаем. Тем более, когда это итальянский INDUSTRIAL BM. Надеюсь вы слышали группу Aborym? Для начала приготовьте свои лучшие колонки. (Хорошо, что я пишу эти строки не глубокой ночью, и можно включить громкость — как мне нравится). Все это понадобится..., также таблетки от головы... стоп, стоп, голова еще пригодится.
NOCRATAI со своим труйным логотипом оказывается функционирует с 1999 года, и многие годы самовыражался в демках и сплитах общим числом более 10. Многие из них уже давно приобрели культовый статус. И в году скажем так 2011-ом итальянская тройка забурила вот этот альбом. Который вышел в силу многих причин практического и иного характера только через 7 лет.
Добавлю что сейчас на архивах в статусе активности у группы записано split-up, то есть команда разбежалась. Вот такой фактаж, а кроме того укажу, что за этот перспективный (мягко говоря) материал ухватились сразу три лейбла: GrimmDistribution, The Ritual Productions (Nld), Black Metal Records (USA), и сделали лимитированный тираж.
Доложу вам, дамы и господа, что для понимания и представления музыки этой формации полезно посмотреть на обложку диска: череп, в котором разместилась вселенная и на заднем фоне электрическая схема похоже что усилителя. Материал представлен на этом компакте оккультный, можно сказать что и философский, и атмосферный, в обрамлении синтетической пульсации самых разных тембров и настроений. Это прежде всего именно блэк металл, а не синт-индастрал-кибернетик техно. Так что это наша тема и мы ее будем внимательно слушать … на диске присутствует немного всяких разных включений - типа трэков из кино, нарраций (повествований), и прочего. Все это придает нашему диску максимум атмосферности, и самое главное, не мешает главному восприятию.
Уже в трэке 1, минуя неминуемые шумовые эффекты и куски из кинофильма (видимо), формация выдает техно-драйв-угар — низкочастотный, полифоничный, маршевый, неумолимый и гнетущий (качество! качество! брате!). Вокал экстремальный, но не в такой мере, как бы хотелось, вполне в индустриальном плане. Инфернальная дискотека для блэкарей? Вполне возможно.
В отличие, второй трак, Аbsense of light дает эмбиентно-шумовую констатацию из пыточных подвалов, что подчеркнуто далекими криками жертв. Это была только передышка на 2 минуты. Далее HELL-техно продолжает свое беснование, постоянно и медленно меняя эмоцию, и приходя опять к маршевому расположению духа.
Что самое главное, техно-индастриал-кости этого блэкового левиафана - это только именно кости, скелет. Идейно же - это мрачная история, жестокая и губительная. Основной вокал - блэковый грубый скриминг, вливающий пятьдесят литров концентрированной кислоты в этот кибернетический ящик. А когда настоящий блэковый музыкант использует эти индастриал-фишки, то и получается истинный кибер-блэк, а не техно с блэковым вокалом.
Достаточно здесь и эмбиентных интригующих кусков, которые дают дополнительный материал для фэнтезийной визуализации, типа саундтрака к фильму о людоедах-пришельцах.
Композиция In His Name, например, на 10 минут, но не самая длинная), как раз начинается с некротических охов-вздохов (не могу сказать, на что это похоже, ввиду...), которые постепенно переходят в медленный ведьмовский низкочастотный пульсирующий шабаш, где доминирует шепчущий высокочастотный вокал (не совсем как у Beherit). После середины ударные можно было бы сделать со звуком рубящего мясо топора. НО и без того все понятно.
Крайний трэк это 16-минутное произведение, наполовину состоящее из затягивающего эмбиентального ужаса, далее внезапно оживающее и перекидывающееся в технологичное некротик-техно-дэнс-пати, зачумленное и зашумленное, с кибер-звучками, шныряющими по колонкам вправо-влево.
В любом месте на этом диске NOCRATAI поражает своими сумасшедшими замыслами и их мега-творческой реализацией.
6 черепов из 6.
Компакт включает 8-страничный буклет и OBI.
https://vk.com/wall216331265_3526
Moderní doba žádá moderní přístup. Aby taky ne. Lidí je jako sraček a těch všelijakejch hříšníků přibývá geometrickou řadou. Modernizaci se tedy nemůže vyhnout ani peklo. Voda se musí na hříšníky vařit a čerti by se asi uběhali pro dřevo, nemluvě o tom, jak by zdevastovali naše lesy. Plynofikace je řešením a tak se kotle v pekle modernizují. Sice tedy asi brzy pro změnu dojde plyn a bude se muset přejít zase na dřevo, ale lesy již nebudou scházet nikomu, když se lidstvo vyhladí válkami. Italští NOCRATAI jsou takovými modernizátory pekla. Patrně vyhráli konkurz u Lucifera, jelikož jsou rychlí a levní. Jenomže znáte to. Všude je nějaký problém a tak si firma začne účtovat vícepráce. No a když jsou zaměstnanci placeni od hodiny, tak to zase všechno tak rychle nepůjde. NOCRATAI se fakt nesnaží být rychlými za každou cenu a „In His Name“ je fakt vleklým požadavkem na svůj příděl tepla. Jo, modernizace je modernizace, a když se s tím nespěchá, tak některé hříšné dušičky si musí počkat v kotli se studenou vodou. Ale dočkají se. Modernizace NOCRATAI jde sice pomalu, zato intenzivně. Podpálit a můžete jít. NOCRATAI si hrnou jakýsi industriální black metal a hlavně rytmika mně to háže někam k technu. Jo, techno black metal, který s metalem má pramálo společného. Sem tam pár kytarových partů, zabalených do houževnatosti ztrát a nálezů nerezových špon, ale jinak industriální, proměnlivá hmota, válčící s noise shluky, obarvených na nechutnost. No a závěr „Drugs And Their Terrible Consequences“ je čistej, neodolatelnej noise mazec v jeho nejprimitivnější poloze. Kdo tenhle závěr dá, tak to je u mě frajer a dočká se ve finále i sporadických melodií nabarvených na černo. Tohle zlé album, tvářící se jako snůška hloupostí při výrobě třaskavin, je trochu zpátečnické. Jenomže tohle album není hloupé, i když se třaskavé nálože oficiálního zla nedočkáte.
https://hardmusicbase.cz/index.php?stranka=recenze_vypis&id=65811&m=1
This might be good news for those who lost their lust of life after the passing-away of Italy’s finest Nocratai, for the band might have reformed recently! All together: hurray! Yet beware: I am not sure, to be honest, whether the members did join forces once again, for the stuff on this new album is not exactly newly written material. And the fact that there was a compilation being released in 2017 (consisting of two older demos), does not necessarily suggest a reformation. Anyway, there is some previously unreleased stuff available right now, so as said, all together: hurray!
No, seriously (for a while). Nocratai were quite an active and productive band in between 1999 and 2008, with two hands full of demonstrational recordings and a couple of splits; the latter with e.g. Kaprogöat or Via Dolorosa. In 2009 the band split up, yet behind the screen, there was some activity going on, apparently. The members were still working together, and in some way, they created the basement for material that would, eventually, see the unlight once more in an unknown future. Well, that future is now!
Davide ‘Beast’ Gorrini (strings and programming; also known from his involvement with Frostmoon Eclipse, Deathrow and, since recently, Manetheren), 4 (voices, noises and sampling; he was the guy behind Rant666), additional sample-provider Nekromantik, and one of Italy’s most famous / notorious multi-instrumentalists, being Gionata ‘Thorns’ Potenti (think: Acherontas, Blut Aus Nord, Moloch, Frostmoon Eclipse, Deathrow and tens of others), recorded some more material at the very beginning on this decade, and this got released very recently via the triumvirate of Ukraine-based GrimmDistribution (owned by Satanath Records’ Aleksey), The Ritual Productions from the Netherlands, and Black Metal Records from Indiana, U.S.Aargh. There are (were) 500 copies, coming with an eight-page booklet in a ‘regular’ jewel-case edition.
First the cover-artwork: cool! The cosmos revealing itself within a smashed skull. So many possibilities to define this, to describe the concept. It’s up to you how you want to interpret this, but the essence remains the same: infinity, death, endlessness and that what may lurk beyond the known…
There is a lot to experience, and that is soon clear as from you listen to the opening track, I Spit In The Eyes Of Christ. It opens quite disturbing and oppressing, with eerie synth sounds, creepy screams, soon joined by a vocal sample from, I guess, some movie. After a minute, things turn more grim and nasty, and extreme guitars, heavy pounding electronic drum beats and blood-spitting growls take over. And here lies the core of this band’s sonic expression: within the world of industrialised Black Metal dimensions…
The drum programming and the many samples give that industrialised attitude in the first place. The structure of the rhythm is quite mechanic in execution, adding that electronic / techno’ish thing, while several noises and sounds (like the many intermezzi, as passages to the next composition, often with those spoken samples) strengthen the industro-machinal approach. And you know, that Electro / Techno part of the game fits to the other side, the blackened Metal essence. It actually has something uncomfortable, and hey, isn’t that an expression of the Black Metal spirit? Indeed it is!
The ‘Metal’ side is technical and sort of melodic in a groovy way. Do not expect fast fingerspitzen guitar play with an overload on leads and solos, but a basement of monolithic harshness, like a wall of guitar sounds. The sound is extremely overwhelming and powerful, and therefor the monotone performance hammers and smashes, almost militant / militaristic to the core.
Recommended if you can enjoy, in a very open-minded way, the likes of Mysticum, Styxian Industries, Cloak Of Altering, Aborym, DHG, Blacklodge or Diabolicum. Doesn’t that sound cool?...
http://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/nocratai
Alcune volte ci si imbatte in album che portano nomi assolutamente totalizzanti, titoli che racchiudono l’essenza dell’opera senza lasciare fuori alcun dettaglio, nemmeno il più minimo. Tormento fa parte di questa piccola categoria.
L’album degli italiani Nocratai è davvero qualcosa di angoscioso, non adatto a tutti. Ma andiamo con ordine.
La band, costituita da Thorns (chitarra, seconde voci, campionamenti), 4 (voce, campionamenti, noise) e Beast (chitarra, campionamenti e programming) ha registrato le otto tracce che compongono il disco nel 2011, ma soltanto nel 2018 è stato possibile ascoltarle, grazie al rilascio da parte della triade Grimm Distribution/The Ritual Productions/Black Metal Records.
Tormento ha un animo black metal, declinato però nelle sonorità industrial e dance più casiniste. Il risultato è un album tamarro come pochi altri. I riff black sono rozzi e ruvidi, accompagnati da una drum machine martellante e dalla cadenza variabile. L’anticristianesimo e il nichilismo proposti dal gruppo sono percepibili nei testi dei brani, ma carpire anche solo una parola è arduo, dato che la voce è annegata in un mare di effetti noise e bordoni elettronici.
L’opera non è un album esente da difetti: la proposta del gruppo è un disco che stilisticamente risulta davvero molto datato già nel 2011, ancora di più adesso. Non ritroviamo particolari tecnicismi, e pesa tantissimo la durata complessiva di alcuni brani, in particolar modo Drugs And Their Terrible Consequences, che nei suoi sedici minuti di vuoto elettronico finisce per ammorbare l’ascoltatore.
D’altra parte emerge prepotente il carattere dell’opera, ignorante e irriverente, che nella semplicità e nella tamarraggine fonda la sua potenza. Inoltre personalmente ho letteralmente amato i field recordings in italiano a tema oscuro ed esoterico tratti da film di assoluto spessore come Il Settimo Sigillo, elementi che fungono perfettamente sia da intro (I Spit In The Eyes Of Christ) che da cesure (Absence Of Light), arrivando ad essere a fondamento stesso dei brani.
Mi rendo conto che a parecchi Tormento risulterà odioso, una causa persa. Ma d’altra parte, se si riescono ad accettare gli innegabili difetti che si porta dietro, ritengo che il disco possa donare qualche oscura soddisfazione. Dategli una possibilità.
Esta banda es un auténtico signo de pregunta. Prácticamente sin presencia en las redes, según el sitio Metal Archives su status es “desconocido”. Como sea, lo poco que pude recabar por allí es que luego de haberse formado en 1999 y de haber grabado infinidad de demos y splits, este trío italiano arriba a su primer larga duración, editado en 2018 pero grabado en… 2011. Digamos que el arranque de la reseña no es muy prometedor.
Dejando de lado lo extra musical, “Tormento” nos trae black metal, pero industrial. Si, tal como leen: black metal industrial, con loops, samples, voces procesadas, baterías programadas y todo lo que el género “industrial” contiene.
Nobleza obliga, no soy fan del black ni del industrial por lo cual estaría en serios problemas para terminar de escuchar este álbum en su totalidad, pero curiosamente no hacen canciones rápidas ni brutales, por lo cual redunda en un disco bastante fácil de asimilar.
Las voces suenan horriblemente blackers, y también hay algunos fragmentos tomados de las películas italianas para darle a la música algo de emoción y locura.
Señores, Satanás se compró una botella de agua mineral y partió hacia una rave. Está en ustedes acompañarlo o no.
https://rockarollazine.blogspot.com/2019/06/nocratai-tormento-2018-grimm.html
Nocratan is Italian band and Tormento was recorded in 2011 but released just recently, in co-operation of 3 labels.
8 tracks, 53 minutes of harsh sounding black metal is my first impression about this record but they do not make fast or brutal songs. Most of the tracks here are written in support of simple music with little more memorable guitar rhythmics, which is why particular songs are easier to follow. The tracks are based on few riffs with old school black metal -punk attitude but it actually works.
I know there are people who cannot accept artificial drums and this is one controversial thing about Tormento - there are no real drums here. You can only hear all kind of samples, programming in which every beat is generated by the machine – you know it at once when you hear it. Still, I do not think it is bad because the songs are not complicated and less chaotic which could be a case if they played very fast. With all that industrial, electronic noise and basic black metal songs, the record might feel like Satan just came to town to have some techno-black metal party. Eventually, Tormento feels that way when you think about it and listen to the album at the same time.
Vocals sound hideously black metal but it`s just OK, I would not see it done in a different way as they draw inspirations from 90`s black metal ( Aborym, Mayhem etc).
There are some fragments taken from Italian movies to give music some thrill and madness but do not ask me, I do not recognize those films - almost everything about this album is in Italian.
There is always something happening musically or otherwise on Tormento which is sort of diversity of the album, but I can`t say much positive things about the sound of the whole record, which is too bad to be good but acceptable.
It is however a bit different album from other black metal releases which may interest you.
Jos säksättävä black industrial metal on mieleen, italoyhtye Nocratain esikoislevy Tormento on vähintäänkin kuuntelunsa arvoinen.
Lukuisia demoja ensimmäisellä vuuosikymmenellään ulos puskenut yhtye on ehtinyt jo kertaalleen hajotakin. Bändi kuitenkin teki paluun uuden vuosituhannen toisella vuosikymmenellä ja aloitti toisen kautensa kokoelmalevyllä vuonna 2017. Tätä seurasi vuonna 2018 julkaistu Tormento, jolla bändi näyttää kyntensä teollisen (mustan) metallin parissa.
Lopputulos ei ole lainkaan hassumpi epätavallisuudessaan, vaikka sävellyksellisesti ontuukin. Levy lähestyy mustanpuhuvaa metallia epätavallisesta kulmasta, joka ei sinänsä ole läheistä sukua edes Mysticumin tapaiselle pioneerinimelle. Enemmänkin verenperinnössä virtaa Aborym, joka lieneekin monelle hieman tutumpi tapaus.
On paikoin vaikea päättää onko Tormento enemmän konesäksätystä vai metallia. Vastakkainasettelulla tosin ei ole suurempaa merkitystä, sillä lopulta vain se ratkaisee onko levyn musiikki hyvää vai ei, tai edes kuuntelukelpoista.
Sitä Tormento lajissaan on, vaikka paikoin jälki onkin hapuilevaa tai ei ainakaan vie helposti mukanaan. Tyylivalinta itsessään on kohdillaan ja levystä haluaisi oikeastaan innostua enemmänkin. Se vain on vaikeaa, sillä suuremman osan ajasta levy fillereitä tarjoaa kuin killereitä. Italiankieliset puhekohdatkin tuntuvat turhan pitkiltä ja epäkiinnostavilta.
Tuotannollisesti levy on sähköinen ja synteettinen, mikä on lajityypissä tietysti oikea valinta. Kuivakka kärinälaulu on melko väritöntä ja siihen kyllästyy nopeasti. Rumpubiitit ovat toki koneellisia, kuten asiaan kuuluu.
Tormento lupaa paljon, muttei lunasta siihen kohdistuvia odotuksia. Tällaisella tyylillä voisi mennä paljon pidemmälle ja rohkeamminkin, mutta nyt lopputulemaksi jää vain ihan kiva yritys. Ei hassumpaa, vaan eipa kovin kaksistakaan.