ALBUM REVIEW: The Nocturnes of Iswylm – Stormkeep
American black metal is experiencing something of a creative pulse, with a crop of new and established bands ensuring that the cult remains alive their side of the Atlantic. STORMKEEP are one such band. The Denver, Colorado-based band’s 2021’s debut, Tales of Othertime – an amalgamation of black metal and dungeon synth firmly rooted in a fantasy world rich with lore – was lapped up and their UK debut, and only show on our shores to date, at Manchester’s Rebellion rubber-stamped STORMKEEP as a band with serious excitement behind them. Five years on from their breakout debut and follow-up The Nocturns of Iswylm, a record designed to catapult the Americans to the upper echelons of the scene.
Where their stellar debut utilised the dungeon synth atmospherics to break up their blackened barrage, The Nocturns Of Iswylm sees a more refined and focused STORMKEEP. It’s far more direct and to the point and over the course of its near 45 minute runtime, the rush is exhilarating. The Taste of Immortal Blood, a title that croons with vampiric malice, is a fair reflection of what the band have crafted here. Grandiose keys intertwine with thundering blastbeats while Otheyn Vermithrax‘s snarls lash through the mix like a bloodhound before subsiding into a chorus that wouldn’t feel out of place on a WINTERFYLLETH record. Benefitting from a lengthy composition, the rolling crescendo that boasts a slick solo to boot is epic stuff. A thumping opening to the record and one that sets the bar incredibly high.
And it’s bar that is consistently met, and at times, the quality on offer is astonishing. The Black Dragons of Iswylm swings and contorts as dizzying symphonics swirl in tandem with the riffs and rolling percussion, and the gorgeous cascade into a piano-led sequence is a subtle but highly effective move. Elsewhere, Saccharine Subjugation leaves a lasting bite and might be quite possibly one of the best black metal songs you’ll hear all year. Here, the sound rides a wave, ebbing and flowing from stormy seas of blackened blasts to melancholic and somber passages, guided by crooning leads and haunting chants.
Such is the importance of lore to the STORMKEEP identity that as a result, The Nocturnes of Iswylm is incredibly calculated and thought-through in its delivery. And that care and consideration into their craft reflects in a truly immersive listening experience. Take Imperious Sanguine Eroticism, where the the clean-heavy vocals and sweeping symphonics reflect a gothic tome of the macabre, whereas Echoes in the Vasts of Sequestration boasts some slick riffs and a particularly cool passage of pay where breakneck blastbeats and haunting melodies are allowed to take the spotlight. Even in the album’s closing stages, the quality remains top tier. Carnal Tapestries of Nailtorn Flesh, a viciously wicked name for a song, is bombastic and theatric in its delivery, as is closer Ballad of a Fallen Star, a nine and a half minute behemoth that ends the record magnificently through one last epic sprawl of symphonic laden black metal magic.
2021’s Tales Of Othertime set a stupidly high bar for a band that relatively new to the black metal world and it would be understandable if their sophomore effort fell slightly short of that bar. But what they have achieved with The Nocturns of Iswylm has not only met that bar, it’s left it in firmly behind in the rear view mirror. STORMKEEP have delivered a record that expands their sound to emphatic new places. It’s a record that demonstrates a band that undergone creative and musical growth, a maturity now reflected in their stellar sophomore effort. Purists might turn their nose up at their more refined soundscape, but make no mistake, The Nocturns of Iswylm is an astonishing effort from a band that is on course to becoming a genuine heavyweight in modern black metal.
Rating: 9/10
The Nocturnes Of Iswylm is out now via Vesperian.
Follow STORMKEEP on Instagram.
