Nox – Ancestral Arte Negro 7″

Band – Nox

Album – Ancestral Arte Negro 7″

Country of Origin – Columbia

Genre – Black Metal

Release Date – August 26th, 2016

Label – Forever Plagued

Author – Hayduke X

With this new 7″ release by the Columbian band Nox, we head into more comfortable metal ground for me. I love black metal that is done well, and Ancestral Arte Negro doesn’t disappoint in any of its four tracks. I couldn’t find much information about Nox. Forever Plagued makes a point they are not to be confused with other South American bands of the same name. I couldn’t find anything conclusive on Metal Archives to determine if this Nox is the same band or not, so I hesitate to use any of that information in this review. The little bit I can glean from the bio I received is that they are orthodox black metal in their themes, meaning they sing about hatred and satan a lot.

Musically, this roughly twenty minute gem is also pretty orthodox. The guitar lines feature lots of tremolo riffing, sometimes mid-paced, sometimes pushing the pace a little higher. The percussion is primarily blasting, perfectly set in the mix and driving the riffs forward at a frenetic pace. Vocals are typical higher pitched yells with an occasional brief foray into a death growl (probably a different band member…I think). The rasp in the vocals is effectively done. I’m pretty sure I hear keyboards or perhaps an organ in Esperando La Muerte, the fourth and final track, which really help it to stand out as exceptional above the other three excellent tracks. The production value of this release are pretty crisp and clean. That will likely draw some ire from the trve cvlt crowd who like this as low budget as possible, but for me, I see it as a plus. Some murkiness can be effective, but too many bands use it to hide uninspired garbage.

It can be difficult to find worthwhile black metal in the underground, but also well worth the effort. The swirling riffs, brutal blasting, and flesh-rending vocal delivery of this brief release make it one of the black jewels that keep you looking.