Atmospheric?  Ethereal? Suspenseful?  NIDSANG probably all chuckle a little when they hear these words and if you try to demonstrate the art of building tension through atmospheric and dynamic music, you will more than likely end up with a battle axe embedded in your face.  I have been attempting to listen to at least one new Black Metal album per week and so far, it has gone pretty well.  I have found myself traversing the many realms that this enchanting genre has to offer, from the sublime to the ridiculous and it has been an amazing voyage.  It has been a journey of self-discovery, of learning and development and truly finding the soul that glows within the musical being of us all.

Then a band like NIDSANG come along and shit on everything I have learnt, simply to remind me that no matter where I go I will always be a slave to the brutal and violent nature of our Dark Lord.

They formed back in 2004 with a single vision and have since released a full length album, an E.P and a 2 song mini E.P.  "Into The Womb Of Dissolving Flames" is their second full length album and packs the punch that only the goat of Mendes can deliver.  For a three piece they sound enormous, the guitar has a depth that could tear down the walls of a small cathedral; the bass would finish off what whatever structure remained and the drums will see to it that a very deep pit opens up beneath to swallow the ruins.  The vocal work is deep, bestial and ferocious, none of this airy and ethereal screaming that you could find on a lot of modern Black Metal releases.  The album opens with the obligatory 2 minutes of sound that could really be anything but it reminds me a little of the sound of falling into the pit and waiting at the gates to Hell for some big horned bugger to come out and welcome you to eternity.  Of course, he comes out right on time and sets the tone for the rest of the album with the first song "Black Void Revelations".  The album is not without its brief sojourns from the archetype and there are moments in songs like "The Burning Beyond" where the urge to add some atmosphere breaks through.  This really doesn't feel much like the instrumental moments set forth by bands like NEGURA BUNGET or DRUDKH but it certainly pervades a sense of ominous dread.

Sadly, this work of brutal art is not without its flaws and the album does start to sound rather repetitive by the end, I guess there is only so much you can do with this kind of music without falling desperately into repetition.  This can all be forgiven though and as a lover of anything dark and inherently blasphemous I can overlook small flaws like these in light of the larger picture and that picture is NIDSANG.