Hailing from Spain, Mistweaver are a melodic death metal act who consistently impress with ‘nocturnal bloodshed’, a nine track blast of unerring brutality that is delivered with passion and precision in equal measure. A band with a long history, Mistweaver have evolved over the years having started out delivering doomier fare, but this current incarnation of the band deserves to draw far greater attention than it has to date and the emphasis here is firmly on quality over quantity.
Opening with ‘the birth’, a suitably epic introduction, the album proper starts with the searing metallic blast that is ‘the biggest threat’. With vocals torn from the depths of hell, rippling keyboards and blastbeats all to the fore, the guitars are razor sharp and the adrenalin rush that greets the blistering riffs is genuine. The band even find the time to insert twin guitar solos, just to make sure that metallers everywhere will be entirely drawn into this vicious work. Such an opening could so often lead to disappointment, but Mistweaver are on fire and ‘Pandemonium’ is casually dropped like an atom bomb, as the band throw in female vocals, scything riffs and an icy sense of atmosphere that draws as much form Therion as it does from Celtic Frost. Uncompromising and incontrovertibly exciting, it’s an awesome track that would stand out if it wasn’t for the consistent quality of what is on offer. ‘Hell’s arrival’ takes a moment to introduce a more sinister feel rather than simply pummelling the listener, but it doesn’t take long for the guitars to come crashing in, bathing the listener in the hellish afterglow of some truly demonic riffs. There’s a classic feel to the music here, as if Mistweaver were channelling Metallica, Judas Priest and Cannibal Corpse all at once when they recorded this monster and it is yet another example of the sublime musicianship and song writing on offer. ‘God is dead’ sees the band indulging in thrashy riffs although the guttural vocals soon dispel any idea that the band were lessening their grip, and as the riffs pile up over the increasingly agitated percussive bombs the only concessions are the melodic leads which scar the surface of a track that is otherwise tougher than the Terminator.
At the very heart of the album lies the real treasure, however. A seven minute epic, ‘nocturnal bloodshed’ is the band’s true masterpiece. With icy riffs abounding, rich keyboard swirls and a devastating beat, this is metal as it should sound – full of fire and fury and delivered with the blank-eyed ferocity of the serial killer. The expanded run time gives the band plenty of room to explore their sound, an opportunity they take up with relish, and there is plenty of light and shade to propel the listener rapidly through the lengthy run time. This is Mistweaver at their peak and if you listen to no other track, this is the one you should try because I can guarantee you you’ll be hooked from that point on. That is not to say that ‘Perpetual darkness’ doesn’t impress. Opening on a sombre note with clean guitar work and keyboard, it soon evolves into a crushingly slow, funereal number that hints strongly at the band’s doom-laden past. Stunningly dark and quite different from the other tracks on offer, it keeps the album fresh, as does the melodic, almost folk-infused ‘end of times’ which is successfully both heavy and beautiful all at once with its female vocals and epic feel. The album concludes its more experimental second half with ‘deceiver’s fall’, a chunky, unexpectedly staccato number that stands at odds with what has gone before and yet succeeds in feeling like a natural conclusion thanks to the stellar performances and clever shifts in tempo and mood.
‘Nocturnal Bloodshed’ is very much an album of two halves. The first half would suggest a band very much in thrall to the spirit of blackened death metal, but just when you feel you have a handle on the band’s music, they expand their palette wonderfully on the second half of the disc, showcasing a variety of influences haunting the band. Wonderfully raw and potent, ‘nocturnal bloodshed’ is perfectly produced and delivered with a macabre glee that recalls the early, brutal days of Cradle of Filth before they relaxed their grip on extremity and the overall result is an album that never fails to impress. Melodic yet uncompromisingly brutal, well-produced yet admirably raw, ‘Nocturnal bloodshed’ is metal exactly as I want it to be – check it out!
