Nightmarer is labeled « technical death metal” but I have rarely heard such a wicked, dark, and twisted sound to extreme metal. The addition of the riff Meister Keith Merrow and his humongous riff writing creativity can be felt very intensely.
“Monolith of Corrosion” is a dark descent to the depths of the evillest parts of earth’s crust, drowning you in dissonance and riffs that rip your skull to shreds and split your spine into relieving agony.
The structures of the songs and the chord progressions are somewhat progressive, in the sense that you can’t predict a clear path to where the track leads you.
This EP’s darkness is only emphasized by its mid-tempo riffs and the haunting vocals displayed by the monstrous John Collett, and the production that perfectly puts the song in its proper register, not being overly bright and clean, and not losing it into a mix that’s too muffed, where instruments seem to be gasping for air. Here, each instrument breathes just enough to be alive and is suffocated enough to sound like it’s lost in the abyss.
This EP knows what it wants, and sets the tone for a very specific school of thought, and a very special metal mood.
Nightmarer: Facebook
Release Year: 2021
Label: Total Dissonance Worship
Category: EP
Country: USA
Reviewed by Oussama EL OUADIE