Band:	Narzissus
Album:	Akt III: Erl​ö​sung
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	January 2024

01. Empor Zum Ideal
02. Erlösung
03. Vanitas/Victoria
04. Im Glanze Baden
05. Der Größte Lohn

When we covered Narzissus' preceding EPs in our Clandestine Cut series, the case was made that melodic as they were, they're not actually meloblack. That's not a case that's as easy to make with the actual full length debut of the project.

Narzissus is one of the many projects of one Erech Leleth, who has been pumping out a lot of black metal (mostly but not exclusively) with various of these projects since around 2019. Black metal musicians starting a bunch of projects is a tale as old as time, but the variety and the quality of these records made him quickly stand out from the crowd, and the fact that a lot of these projects started out with EPs rather than with full-lengths meant that most of them got their coverage starts with our Clandestine Cuts series. I'm not entirely sure which of his releases was the one that was the first to appear, since a few of these projects haven't yet made it to the full-length phase, but Narzissus's Akt I EP is definitely among those firsts. Showcasing a raw second-wave inspired sound that nonetheless was steeped in a punkish DYI sound and a great sense of melody in its riffing. Akt II quickly followed-up while continuing mostly in the same vein of gritty but melodious black metal.

Nearly four years later, the project now moved to the full length phase with Akt III, and in the meantime since those two EPs Erech has been quite busy. One project that he released since and that's relevant to us for multiple reasons in Summer Haze '99. Not only is that the only other Erech-fronted I reviewed, but also sometimes it feels like Akt III is closer to Summer Haze '99's Inevitable than to either one of the first two EPs. What set those aforementioned EPs was the contrast between how authentically DYI and raw and gritty it sounded in a sound that's pretty well established while also having top-notch melodies. The latter part is perhaps even more true with Akt III, as the guitar melodies especially feel like some of the most memorable and impactful that Erech has ever written, the thing is that most of the rawness of the previous records has been stripped to create a sound that is more clean and pristine. It's not overproduced by any means, but it's one of the reason why Akt III leans closer to meloblack than Narzissus ever did.

So what Akt III seems to take from Innevitable is a tendency to introduce unexpected elements from outside black metal. I almost feel like spoiling the album, but moments like the flamenco in "Vanitas/Victoria" and the upbeat folk and the sensual jazz of "Der größte Lohn" sound so tonally ambitious and left-field, but in the best way possible. But even more relevant for the previous comparison, there's significant use of a more art pop-ish guest vocalist. Though not to the same extent as Innevitable's, it provides an even deeper dive into melodies and hooks, to the point where the second listen felt so familiar already. These add a lot of character to the album as more than mere embellishments alongside the black metal. Even if the black metal itself is more melodic and cleanly produced than the one in previous EPs it still feels tonally more in line with them than with the blackgaze-infused Innevitable, providing some justification from the sonic point of view as to why the album carries the "Narzissus" name.

Honestly, I'm not gonna shed any tears for the loss of the rawness of the previous Narzissus material. Part of what appealed about them has been expanded to such an overdelivering degree in Akt III that it's hard to ignore just how amazing that growth was.