Band:	Nocte Obducta
Album:	Irrlicht (Es Schlägt Dem Mond Ein Kaltes Herz)
Style:	Avantgarde black metal
Release date:	December 2020

01. Zurück Im Bizarren Theater
02. Von Stürzen In Mondmeere
03. Rot Und Grau
04. Der Greis Und Die Reiterin
05. Der Alte Traum
06. Bei Den Ruinen
07. Noch

Do you like your black metal just lightly experimental?

Nocte Obducta have long been called both progressive and avantgarde black metal, sometimes either one of those in different parts of their career, with them starting out as a pretty traditional black metal band, growing more and more progressive, with them really pushing their sound in a more avantgarde direction in the last decade. But it's not as simple as that. They've always been more of a melodic black metal band first. Even in the band's beginnings there were already bits that gave way to them not being completely conventional. And even at their most avant-garde, with them playing around with evoking different atmospheres, their sound was still rooted in progressive black metal. And they were never really the kind of avant-garde that's very immediate, but they work in a more subtle way. Irrlicht is also avant-garde lite.

So for the most part, Irrlicht can satisfy those who are just looking for black metal, albeit the more melodic and pristinely produced kind, since the deviations of the band from that sound aren't as "blasphemous" as the avant-garde label would indicate. The album actually starts with its most straightforwardly black metal moments, so it can ease people into what could otherwise be a pretty unassuming black metal release. Torsten Hirsch's (also of Agrypnie) shrieks have never been especially impressive or recognizable, and that works to make Irlicht continue to be rooted in a more traditional sound. One doesn't notice the deviations in atmosphere and the synth soundscapes as noticeably unconventional for black metal until way later in the album due to how subtly they were incorporated. You get to the point where other than the vocals, the music is barely black metal, but it could fool you.

The sound in infused with a lot of post-rock moments and ambient synth atmospheres that are admittedly not as groundbreaking now as they would've been many years ago. In a way, Nocte Obducta reached the peak of their experimentalism with Umbriel, with later releases only cementing that progression in sound if anything. Irrlicht is even more noticeably straightforward than Totholz, sounding closer to encompassing sounds from throughout their career, being the closest to the Nektar albums. Irrlicht's appeal is less about how groundbreaking it is, but how the band's progressive elements are so well incorporated in their sound, and how well the songs are written so that they can comfortably sit in the 6-10 minute range and not feel too repetitive or meandering.

It's basically the kind of black metal album from a band that has moved freely with its sound but that doesn't pull the rug from under your feet with their unconventionality. Perhaps they're playing it a bit more safely at this point, but their songwriting skills elevate Irrlicht to a pretty interesting affair, groundbreaking or not.