21st November 2022

Review: “Seventh Secular Crusade” by Nazghor

“Seventh Secular Crusade” is a massive experience of darkness and light. This is our best record to date, and we could not be more ready to share the result with you. It has everything that people expect from Nazghor, excellent melodies, dark atmosphere and raw power. We have raised the bar in both song writing and production. We believe in this album, and we want to make sure that no one miss the opportunity to witness our greatest opus” ~ Nazghor

A decade ago in November 2012, Nazghor emerged on a dark winters night from the unholy city of Uppsala in Sweden, a Black Metal beast summoned from the void into this world to deliver humanity to evil. Thus far they have given us six albums with 2017’s “Infernal Aphorism” and 2016’s “Death’s Withered Chants” being particularly well received. After all who can forget “Craft Of The Nihilist” with that guest appears from Anders Strokirk of Necrophobic?! Their seventh album, the cunningly titled “Seventh Secular Crusade” has been mixed and mastered by Pentagram Studios (Rotting Christ, Acherontas, Lucifer’s Child) and promises much from a collection of seasoned musicians…

Cold melancholic synths bring forth the winds of plague of “Massive Omen Paradox” with an incantation that gradually builds before the tide turns with stealth and speed as Black Metal riffs sweep everything aside and the skull splitting begins once again. Melodic and shrouded in a cloak of darkness with ethereal touches and moments almost choral in origin, it finds the band at their finest, Nekhrid’s unmistakeable vocals like nails dragging on a chalk board. “Fulminating Fire” then ensures that despite the rich melodies of the guitar work that the unrelenting breakneck pace remains, so much so that lesser mortals may suffer whiplash in the process of listening to this unholy offering before the fist in the air chanting of “Fire!” takes hold in the final moments. Some Hardcore Punk rhythm guitars interwoven with Black Metal leads usher in “A Crown Soaked In Blood“, perhaps hinting at some more traditional influences on this one as the cut flows fearlessly free. Whereas on the first couple of cuts the band are more controlled and technically proficient in their writing, here they offer a sense of fun as if laughing at themselves in the mirror with an evil grin.

Racing effortlessly away “Sons of Shadows” is another majestically vibrant piece of Black Metal that creates the juxtaposition between darkness and light that the band promised, the lyrics and vocals the chainsaw to the sonic call the void, an ice storm with influences of Emperor plain to see. What they have done well is to distil this material down, removing some of the bloat of the longer material on 2017’s “Infernal Aphorism” for example while keeping every element that made the record so worthwhile. A sense of epic majesty and grandeur that flows through the entirety of this album as it leaves you wanting to drink cognac in a decadent house of gold and bones while the corpses of your enemies burn on an open fire. One of the finer cuts is “Primordial Lineage“, a near seven minute magnum opus that has a couple of stunning solos, warm synths and even a couple of Progressive Metal inspired moments towards its bitter end. If it wasn’t for banshee wails of Nekhrid you could almost be listening to a Black Metal philharmonic orchestra, such is the power and glory of the musicianship. Every band under the sweet evil sun claims their latest burnt offering is their finest however this time around Nazghor have actually delivered on their promise [8/10]

Track Listing