NEMUS ANIMA is a one-man metal project. It combines elements of black, death and thrash metal into a melodic and atmospheric experience. The debut album "Hatred Embodiment" was released in 2023, December. Their music is raw, dark, primitive and even emotional and beautiful, but not an overly polished sound giving the listener a genuine and real listening experience. The album has eight songs, and “The gate to my World” is first. It is slow, dark, and brooding, and the riffs are fairly simple. The harsh vocals add some energy to the song, and they bring a thickness with them.

“Toxic blood” begins with clean tones that are bit psychedelic from the guitar effects, and in come the harsh vocals, but the melody remains strong. Topi also shifts the meter a little deftly. “Pandemic of dying brain cells” rolls forward with blast beats, meaty bass notes, and throaty vocals, that form into a cadence at times. “Watch me sink” begins with clean, somber tones from the guitar, that seem to gently weep, then in comes the anger of the vocals and instrumentation. This might be the best put together song on the album. “Thread that burns” has a slow, solemn pace from a fairly simple guitar riff, and some lead breaks here and there. Even the harsh vocals drip with regret.

“Karma” has a slow, dark and crunchy, riff, mimicking the effects of karma in one’s life…it can creep up years later after you have forgotten about it. There are some minor phasing issues here at times. “Medal on a casket” promulgates the idea that celebrating certain accomplishments don’t mean much in the end, because the only place you can display them is on your casket, as you are lowered into the ground. “Rivers flow red (outro)” is the final cut, and it’s a short instrumental closer that leaves the listener cold. Overall, this wasn’t a bad album per se, and keep in mind that it is a one-man band. It just failed to excite me as a listener, and that is the bottom line.