By Monk
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. The beginning is usually a very good place, but even then, and especially in this case, where to begin is shrouded in the fog of dilemma. I mean, I could talk about Northern Ireland’s bittersweet (and mostly more bitter than sweet) relationship with black metal; about how BM bands have, until relatively recently, struggled to emerge from the darkness of ignorance into the dim light of recognition; about the struggles its devotees have undergone while remaining true (or should that be trve?) to their beliefs, steadfast in their commitment to the purveyance of the dark art… But, I won’t. I will resist the temptation to digress and divert from the (left hand) path and instead dive straight in and talk about the sheer and utter towering majesty of this magnificent debut offering from semi-supergroup Domhain.
I do not use words like “towering”, “majesty” and “magnificent” lightly (or darkly), and especially not in the same sentence. But, this introductory three-song 28-minute EP truly deserves such accolades, and many more. And, I cannot find enough entries in my recently published “Monk’s Dictionary of Irrelevant and Unnecessary Superlatives” to even describe some if not most of what is being delivered in this aural feast.
Taking the Nordic mien of dense, atmospheric folk-infused post-blackgaze and transporting it to the bleak, withered lushness of the not-so Emerald Isle, Domhain combine disharmonic harmony and dense melodic dynamics with a sense of hopeless hopefulness that captivates and enervates as much as it desolates and discontents.
Built on simple orchestrations that sound all the more huge for their underlying simplicity, with cellos cutting through acerbic guitars while both also embrace one another, ‘Nimue’ is thoughtful and equally incisive and insightful, enlightened and enlightening, building and falling back through peaks and valleys of cinematic aplomb. It possesses a beautiful entropy all of its own, flowing effortlessly into and around both your aural cortices and the innermost depths of your condemned, darkened soul as it combines and counterpoints passages of ethereal ambience with those of extreme brutality with a cohesion and coherence that also manages to sound contrastingly chaotic.
Quite simply, ‘Nimue’ is a work of dark art which deserves to have pride of place in the collection of any trve aficionado of the cvlt of BM, in all its myriad shades of blackness.
- ‘Nimue‘ is released on 20 October.
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