Order of Nosferat opens its castle gates.
To close the year 2024, Count Revenant (guitar/bass/vocals/keyboards, Sarkrista, ex-Sarastus…) and Anzillu (drums, Curse upon a Prayer, Iku-Turso, Sarastus, ex-Serpentfyre) unveil their sixth album, Towards the Nighttrealm of Orlok.
We’re greeted with …Far Away to the Land of Ghosts, an introductive track of keyboards and a few hooters that easily get us in the mood for Crossing the Shadowland, where Black Metal roots lacerate us without delay. These are softened by the keyboards, but the vocalist is also at work on this track, reinforcing the aggressive side with his macabre howls, while the rhythm progresses to Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok, where the atmosphere takes on mysterious hues. The cold riffs also have an effect, capturing us in their infernal tornado while playing with the epic tones of Dungeon Synth, then becoming haunting as they meet At the Sea She Longs for His Return, which displays a melancholy serenity, barely disturbed by the tortured screams. Shortly after the song’s halfway point, the already prominent keyboards take over for a softer interlude, before the finale rushes us into Blood is Life! an atmospheric composition where synthesizers and a vocal sample accompany our passage to Into Pale Shadows and Ghostly Dreams, which re-energizes us with an energetic rhythm. The raw Old School approach is perfect to confirm the track’s aggressiveness, tempered by a catchy break, then Where the Werwolf Haunts the Woods takes its place with a fairly soothing rhythm. The rhythm becomes more intense, then transforms into a long walk through the forest evoked by the track, letting the vocalist disturb the quietude once more before moving on to Beyond the Eternity Gates I Wait, which is more pessimistic, almost ceremonial at first, but the savagery returns at full gallop to ignite the drums, before finally letting the sound become softer. The band closes its album with Don’t Leave, a cover of the Electro Gummy Boy project, where a fairly simple but effective rhythmic pattern supports the playful, heady keyboards, ultimately fitting in rather well with the band’s universe.
Mixing Black Metal and Dungeon Synth is nothing new, but Order of Nosferat does it particularly well. Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok is the perfect album to let your mind wander, or to accompany a horror movie.
95/100
