Silva Nigra - Epocha (2007)

Another album number four, nearly 50 minutes of snare-snare-snare- snare-snare-snare "Total Antichrist Propaganda" from Czech raw black metal bandits Silva Nigra. Featuring the drummer from Trist (not that one, the other one) it's a gloriously sombre yet curiously riff laden journey through the dark and icy wastes.

Soothing industrial ambiance carries you gently into a slow groove before an icy blast tears you from safety, by which time it's too late. A chilling album of blasting black metal, never far removed from a subtle melancholy that pierces the frozen dirge. The anguish of Ulvberth's throaty, blackened rasp is never far behind, tearing at your soul as you desperately try to escape the suffocating depression. As comfortable with the typical d-beat snare blast assault as pouring sombre leads over a bleak soundscape, Silva Nigra have perfected their art. Pausing only for a brief interlude, Epocha is a complete black metal album, covering many areas and compromising none. It might not have the mindfucking depth of your Blut Aus Nord's or Deathspell Omega's, but equal parts old school krieg riffage and Celestia/Mortifera misery it remains impressive. All hail the Dark Lord. Satan is pleased.

9/10