Nydvind celebrates its 25th anniversary!
For Richard Loudin (vocals/guitar, ex-Bran Barr, ex-Monolithe), Nesh (guitar/bass/bouzouki, Azziard, End of Mankind, ex-Bran Barr) and Geoffroy Lacarrière (guitar, Azziard, Paths to Deliverance) and their label Malpermesita Records, it’s time to release Tetramental II – Telluria, their fourth album.
The album opens with the gentle Telluria, a haunting eponymous composition that darkens as soon as the vocals appear, giving it an aggressive edge that contrasts with the majestic sound of the instrumental. The riffs accelerate and take advantage of their Black Metal influences to trample us before calming down again and adorning themselves with their softer, more ethereal Folk touches, developing melodies that are finally reinforced by saturation and backing vocals before naturally moving on to Thanetian Sublimity. The atmosphere remains quite similar, taking advantage of both the power of the riffs and the quietude of the harmonics that envelop us in their dissonant veil before the voice intervenes, first speaking and then roaring before adopting epic, melancholy tones. Heart of the Woods – Part 2 follows with a reference to their first album, weaving a heavier sound through which we move slowly, only to be trampled by bursts of energy, before quietude takes its place again before we are tossed back to Ebony Sanctum. Calm awaits us again, but it’s quickly followed by Doom/Death influences and light touches like clean vocals that make the track accessible and spellbinding until Dance of the Ages takes its place. There’s also that misty sound that sometimes becomes heavier and darker, but always returns to its original delicacy, unlike Into the Pantheon of Absinthia, which very quickly introduces a touch of darkness and then regularly accentuates it to flesh out its curtain of oppression in the rare moments of floating.
Somewhere between melancholic Black Metal and ferocious Pagan roots, Nydvind finds a way to let its heart speak. Tetramental II – Telluria is a diverse album that will please fans of heavy ambience as much as those who swear by rage.
85/100