[since I did promise to write a review once in a while about older material for projects and / or artists and / or labels and / or distributors (etc.) that I do adore (personally and / or musically), I will finish this older release. This one is for Phillip and or those who congregate in darkness!]
First a short introduction to the label, Noctivagant Collective. This North-American label is based in Albuquerque (New Mexico) and in the meantime active for fifteen years. Being one of the most notorious communities within the Ritual / Drone / Dark Ambient / Occult / Electronic scene, this collective, run by the sympathetic humanoid Phillip Abraham, did release material for acts like Corona Barathri, Emme Ya, Undirheimar, Sublatio Mortis, Selo Vatra, The Black Monolith, Dodenskald and so many other majestic projects.
[PS: some more reviews for this label will follow soon(er or later)]
A short word about the artist, Hiemis. This entity hails from Spanish soil and is no stranger at all to the Noctivagant Collective family (seven mutual releases in the meantime, if I am not mistaken). It’s a project by Juan Carlos Toledo (the guy behind Ominous Sounds too) that dwells within the spheres of Dark Ritual Ambient, yet injected with elements from other, related genres. Or, as the project describes, the creation of dark environments full of nuances and sparkles, subtle orchestration, minimalism sound.
Nephilim comes with stunning artwork, totally fitting to the title and the concept: a vision of a celestial giant, clouded and rising from the surface, while a (female) figure watches up, surrounded by both elements of nature (the woods) and chaos (the soil). It’s a metaphysical and sub-religious vision narrating about the ‘Nephilim’, a race of giants that represent the offspring of archetypical seraphim-like beings that came to our planet, and which are part of several mythologies and legends from all over Mater Terra. It’s about the futility of men, about the contrast of mortality and decay, about knowledge and power, about dedication and betrayal. The Bible, the Book of Enoch, and comparable philosophies or myths from ancient civilizations refer to this subject. Since this is a review on an album and not about a very interesting theme, I refer to the .net, dear people, to find out more on the matter.
So, the recording then… Nephilim was recorded and mixed during Spring 2024 by Juan Carlos himself, and it is divided into eight individual yet very cohesive chapters. The total running time is almost forty minutes. And as from the start (cf. the opening track The Watchers, a name for the Seraphim-like ancestors), you’ll notice the dense, even claustrophobic atmosphere. Deep drones, occult atmospheres, eerie textures drift by, slow yet unstoppable, covering all light into an obscurity of unphysical horror. At the very same time, uncorrupted wonder and expanding awe enlighten, in a surrounding manner, the abyssal darkness. With cinematic-Lovecraftian excellence and expertise, the whole album gets veiled in an asphyxiating nebula of enigmatic drone-waves and doomed sound-sculpting.
The sound-texture of the synths is often rough, adding a post-industrialized vibe and a fine hint of abstruse ANW-injected dimensions (note: it works amazingly well!), while the increased secretive-ritualistic elements exacerbate any allusion to sobriety. Sometimes rumbling, then again mesmeric, excessive or audacious, the whole album continuously develops, evicting and decreasing, evolving and considerating. It’s a mixture of pulsating, introvert, anesthetic, reverberating, droning, ceremonial, hypnotic and even seductive fragments, building up a tension that never sounds exaggerated, yet permanently intrigues and tranquilizes, despite the occultic voltage.
https://noctivagantcollective.bandcamp.com/album/nephilim
https://hiemismusic.bandcamp.com/album/nephilim
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/serpent-0
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/corona-barathri-melek-tha
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/occult-odyssey-sublimatio-mortis-ens-imperfectissimum-undirheimar
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/moloch-conspiracy-0
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/ungaiky%C5%8D
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/corona-barathri-emme-ya
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/various-artists-rituals-ancient-europe