NACHASH has been around for 14 years but have only released one EP and two full-length studio albums during that time. Their second LP, Eschaton Magicks, was recently issued on January 31, 2025 via Signal Rex. This has to be one of the greatest crimes of the era. I mean, sure there’s climate change, an assortment of never-ending wars, and the scourge of Nu-Metal, but the real crime is the fact that NACHASH has such a limited discography. On the other hand, there is something about scarcity increasing the value of a commodity. If Extreme Metal was a commodity, NACHASH would be a diamond merchant and Eschaton Magicks an obscenely outsized gem.

Eschaton Magicks comprises seven tracks and clocks out just south of 41 minutes. In promo material their style is described as “brooding, aggressive and triumphant black metal, with elements of death, thrash and doom intertwined” and the album itself as “seven sonick manifestations of the darkness beyond and the end of days.”  I firmly agree with the first statement. Not sure what the second statement actually means, but it sounds cool as fuck.

NACHASH comes on like a FWBM band but with the benefits of a modern, well-equipped studio

(City of Dis). It’s always a pleasure to listen to brutal Black Metal that is masterfully recorded and mixed by a skilled metalist, in this instance Arild M. Torp.

I have to admit that I’m new to NACHASH. For returning fans they may not be surprised at the consistency of this album. Track-by-track it is undeviating aggression crafted across some well-composed compositions. The first track, “Stygian Nightmare,” sounds like a lumber mill running at full tilt, but in the cacophony of savage riffs there is rhythm and melody. So, some heavy thrash vibes there. The second track, “Sojourner of the Dark Passage,” maintains the pace but introduces a multi-movement approach. The track sounds like three different songs, fused together by bridges of distortion and discord. One of my favorite tracks on the album.

“The Scytheweilder” verges more into Death. A solid track, but not nearly as interesting as some others. Mid-album is the title-track, “Eschaton Magicks,” a beast of many fangs and claws. The break in the middle of this track is a moment of singular genius. Best track, this one. From this point on the album is one massive infernal blast of hellfire. “Death’s Mordant Blaze” is another brutal standout and “Empyrean Graves” is a Black Metal greyscape with touches of Atmospheric tinged with harmonic tremolo and the urgency of Thrash. Concluding the rampage is “Wherein the Devil Dwell.” The longest track of the seven, it has a short ambient intro and outro. Dripping of epic triumph, it is the perfect closer.      

Eschaton Magicks is as stately and dark as its cover—Death riding atop a skeleton horse flanked by skeleton, winged warriors, a suit of broken and empty armor at the horse’s hooves. Victory and death all on one image. Perfect tie in with the album title, ‘eschaton’ referring to the end of days. (Don’t be impressed, I had to look that one up). NACHASH, Eschaton Magicks, a must have for extreme metalheads.