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Nattsjäl - Of Chaos Supreme - Reviewed By Jenny Tate! Wednesday July 19 2023, 8:13 PM

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Nattsjäl - Of Chaos Supreme - Reviewed By Jenny Tate ! check it out here at this link: https://jennytate.wordpress.com/2023/05/28/nattsjal-of-chaos-supreme/

Introducing ‘Of Chaos Supreme’, new DIY album, from Sweden’s Viking, folk, black, thrash collective, Nattsjal.

Dual brainchild of Jonas Almqvist and Pierre Wilhelmsson, of Manegarm fame, Nattsjal was formed purely for fun and now boasts a full line-up.

Cover art by the legendary Kris Verwimp.

Valkyria – Instantly folky intro, with a Gypsy tinge, morphing into Viking/Pirate metal. Aggressive vocals yield to more melodic ones. Lively fiddle section, conjuring visual imagery. Blazing accompaniments. A very uplifting sound. Enlivening stylistic combo’s. Especially vocally. Moving through various vocal styles. Fast-paced and upbeat, with that folky centre remaining, till the end.

Part 1 – The Awakening – A curious vacuum opens, with gory, Gollum-esque lyrics. Distortion intrigues, as a cave-like echo closes. A brief, but curious interlude.

Veil Of Sorrow – Classic rock intro riff, complete with growled vocals. Darker melodies. Quite an effective narrative. Drums appearing, more prominently, 1/4 in. Suddenly firing up, around the bridge. That combo of accompaniments at that point, does get a bit chaotic. More even styles follow. The choral chants provide an interesting backdrop, as the riff solo replaces them, for the final fade-out.

Part 2 – Chaos Reborn – A dull, doom-laden funeral bell opens, clanging, repeatedly, as sinister whispers join it. Another short, but affecting track.

Of Chaos Supreme – An energetic, but dark intro. Very busy, embodying the title well. Quick rhythms, vocal extremity and a kick drum lend it a serrated edge. A pleasant acoustic bridge builds a mediaeval atmosphere. Very ogre-ish vocals, followed by choral style harmonies. Lyrically dark, as expected, but featuring some light snatches, at the end.

Dimma – Opening with a suitably dim, yet hopeful vocal echo and that’s all there is, but it’s still quite hauntingly evocative of being lost at sea, or similar.

Hostmane – A Baroque style intro, gently evocative of mediaeval gardens. Softly toned acoustic melodies meet the vocal style, in the middle. The fragile vocals grow stronger, around the bridge and are joined by beautifully sung backing vocals. Rhythmically powerful, more so from the 3/4 mark. Gorgeous closing tonal accompaniments.

Overall – A very clearly atmospheric album, ‘OCS’ intrigues and surprises, in equal measure. Balancing light and darkness, well, it packs enough features in, without overloading it. The briefer tracks are effectively situated, providing respite, between the busier tracks. It’s a carefully considered structure, proficiently performed. Featuring all the aspects of its stated genres, cleverly combined, ‘OCS’ is a recommended listen.

8/10 ******** Jenny Tate

Release Date: 2023 - 02 - 24

FFO: Månegarm, Celtic Frost, Satyricon

Location: Norrtälje, Sweden

Short Bio: A phoenix rising! Jonas Almqvist the founder creator and brain together with Pierre Wilhelmsson, behind the well known metal act MÅNEGARM is back with a vengeance! After a few years of the scene for different reasons the urge to create music again got to strong to ignore.. This time the idea is to make music just for the fun of it. Everything is self produced by inkl. Mixing and mastering and no label behind it. Along the way some old friends has joined in and the project is growing. They see themselves as a family or like a music collective if you want. Cover art on all of the releases Kris Verwimp, well known in the genre for his excellent work.

Check out this video!