J-Man Hierophany of the Open Grave is a dark, mystical, and simply evil venture into the world of modern black metal. Fast tremolo-picked guitars, dissonant soundscapes, a twisted sense of melody, and trance-inducing atmospheres are what Nightbringer create with this effort; it's pretty safe to say that Hierophany of the Open Grave's challenging and dense musical bombast is not for those without a firm background in black metal music. The long and brutally frightening compositions can take a little while to warm up to, but I have a difficult time calling this effort anything but successful.

Nightbringer plays a style of black metal that's firmly rooted in the early Norwegian scene - storming blast beats and tremolo picked riffs are found in abundance on this album. This band is far from unoriginal, though, and there are quite a few twists that make Nightbringer stand out from your average black metal act. For one, they certainly make use of dissonant and challenging riff patterns (Blut Aus Nord would be an obvious point of reference here), as well as an eery sense of melody - the occasional piano or organ part really adds a chilling atmosphere to the music. I wish the band would've expanded a bit more upon this twisted melodic side; at over an hour in length, Hierophany of the Open Grave can be a bit too one-dimensional and dense to sit through in one listen. Music this challenging can become slightly monotonous when played for a long duration of time, and a few more small hooks to grab onto may have helped increase the memorability of this effort.

Still, there's no denying that this is an hour of quality black metal music, and I find myself being immersed in Hierophany of the Open Grave's bleak atmosphere multiple times throughout its duration. The music has a rather hypnotic effect, and this is probably best experienced with a nice pair of headphones on a cold evening. After all, the production is definitely worth enjoying through a pair of good speakers or headphones. While still raw and powerful, the production has just the right level of polish to sound professional and commanding. A production like this suits the music perfectly.

While not faultless, Hierophany of the Open Grave is an impressive work from Nightbringer that should satisfy fans of old school black metal with a few unique twists. I've had a pretty great time listening to this album, and I'd say a 3.5 star rating is well-deserved. Just be warned - this is not at all for the faint of heart.

Time Signature Eater of the black metal...

Genre: black metal

Let me start out with a warning: if you like bright, uplifting and easy-listening music, then - for the love of God - stay a way from this release. However, if you like challenging, intense, dark and unpleasant music, then - for the love of Satan - check out Nightbringer's "Hierophany of the Open Grave".

Nightbringer draw both on raw black metal and more avant-garde style of black metal in the sense that they do make use of the trademark black metal tremolo riffage and blastbeats, but that is only one ingredient of the Nightbringer sound. Quite often, they make use of overlaid guitars such that while one plays a primitive tremolo riff, the other might play droning notes or a strangely melodic figure or something like that. In addition, the band draws on the heavy drum beats of doom metal, and often you will find doom-ladden drums combined with tremolo picking - actually, compared to a lot of other black metal, this release is quite heavy in terms of rhythm tempo.

All of these contrasts obviously generate intensity in the music, and Nighbringer's use of dissonant chords and growled vocals add to the intensity of the music. So, yes, this certainly is challenging and interesting black metal. The individual compositions are also quite varied and dynamic because of the moving back and forth between fast and slow tempos.

Despite this, my overall experience of the album is that it can become a bit monotonous, but in a black metal context, monotony can be a positive thing, and something which many black metal artists strive for; so in that perspective - mission accomplished.

If you are looking for an intense and challenging musical experience of contrasts and darkness, then you should check out this release.