Band:	Nachtmystium
Album:	Instinct: Decay
Style:	Psychedelic black metal
Release date:	May 30, 2006
Guest review by:	Slayer666

01. Instinct
02. A Seed For Suffering
03. Keep Them Open
04. Chosen By No One
05. Circumvention
06. Eternal Ground
07. The Antichrist Messiah
08. Here's To Hoping
09. Abstract Nihilism
10. Decay

Before I start with anything here, I have to say I'd be very grateful if someone could enlighten me as to how exactly do I pronounce this band's name. I mean, Nachtmystium? Couldn't they just go with The Evil Boys from Illinois (catchy, eh?) or something? Still, I suppose it's a ton easier to remember than, say, Aasdgoihasdghexekul . Anyway, enough of these shenanigans. These guys may be familiar to you for some of their more recent releases, where they largely incorporate many non-metal elements into our beloved genre of black metal, sometimes even up to the point where it no longer sounds like the style they originated in. However, this does not happen on Instinct: Decay.

Let's face it, folks: the raw Black Metal we all know and love can't possibly continue to exist forever in its original state. Specially not now, in the age of internet and copycat bedroom warriors that think recording their first guitar lesson while screaming their throats off about Father Satan, catholic priest rapists, losing their virginity to a goat and other gibberish while labeling it "black methul!1" is a great idea. So, why not sprinkle the genre with some fresh new ideas, and offer us something we haven't heard before? Nachtmystium started to do just that on this album.

While their later releases would eventually become less and less black, their frostbitten origins are still quite dominant on Instinct:Decay. Add a sparkle of psychedelia to a thick layer of dirty, grinding black metal and you've got this album summed up in a nutshell. Indeed, everything that would make your grandma run off to the nearest church to get you an exorcist if she knew you listened to it is present here. Uncountably high number of drum beats? Check. Guitars that sound like a swarm of buzzing insects gnawing your brain? Check. Maniacal "hooker-with-throat-cancer" shrieking? Check. Low-fi production? Check. However, Nachtmystium also cross into psychedelia territory frequently, either with eerie sounding computer-generated samples or a guitar melody that hovers above the noisy black metal onslaught and sounds like something you might expect from a psychedelic rock band. This not only sets this album apart from the sea of endless copycats, but also gives it a more personal, vilely demented sound.

A typical song from Instinct:Decay starts by raping your ears (in a good way) with a dirty, chilling tune, swirling you in a vortex of chaos until your ear drums bleed. And just when you think that it's over, the melodic guitar section starts showing its ugly head, creating melodies intended to plunge you even deeper into the vilest, twisted and demented corners of your mind. Perhaps this album does not achieve the desired effect on such a high level as some others in the similar veil, but it most certainly does a pretty good job. Some moments on it could, with no further debate, be called soul-chilling, mind crushing brilliance.

Perhaps the greatest strength on this album is that it has the potential to appeal both to those who like their black metal raw, filthy and uncompromising as well as those who are looking for a gust of fresh air in this somewhat stale genre. With that in mind, whatcha waitin' for? Go check it out!