Nazghor – Seventh Secular Crusade – Album Review – Scandinavian Power, Black Metal from Uppsala, Sweden
Today, I am writing about the promising Scandinavian black metal band Nazghor from Uppsala, Sweden, and their latest studio album “Seventh Secular Crusade,” released in 2022.
Nazghor - Primordial Lineage
Nazghor comments: “Primordial Lineage” is one of our most epic Nazghor songs ever and is the last single from our upcoming album “Seventh Secular Crusade”. “Seventh Secular Crusade” is a massive experience of darkness and light. This is our best record to date, and we could not be more ready to share the result with you. It has everything that people expect from Nazghor, excellent melodies, dark atmosphere and raw power. We have raised the bar in both songwriting and production. We believe in this album, and we want to make sure that no one miss the opportunity to witness our greatest opus.
Nazghor’s seventh album - Seventh Secular Crusade - will be released 25:th of November 2022. Seventh Secular Crusade is the band’s best production this far. The album is mixed and mastered by Pentagram Studios (Rotting Christ, Acherontas, Lucifer's Child).
Nazghor emerged on a dark winter night in November 2012 from the unholy city of Uppsala. Since then, Nazghor has released six albums bringing a pure, and still melodic, black metal of death. The band has toured and played at several festivals across Europe as well as acting as support band for Batushka and Uada.
Nazghor’s seventh album - Seventh Secular Crusade - will be released 25:th of November 2022. Seventh Secular Crusade is the band’s best production this far. The album is mixed and mastered by Pentagram Studios (Rotting Christ, Acherontas, Lucifer's Child).
Nazghor is:Nekhrid - VocalsArmageddor - GuitarsAngst - GuitarsGalthran - BassJester J - Drums
This is the fourth day I am listening to the Seventh Secular Crusade album that introduced me to Nazghor, and ending my listen once again at maximum volume, thanks to the album's highlight moment, "Primordial Lineage," the sixth track.
As for the musical concept, Nazghor did not distance themselves from the fundamentals of black and death metal, but their tight performances and live sounding energy make this album one of my personal favorites in the black metal genre. The album's direct Folk, Scandinavian, Symphonic, Power, Black, and Death metal influences reminded me of Dimmu Borgir with its orchestration, Iced Earth with its multiple vocal parts and power metal, and Sabaton with its folk metal elements.
Lastly, the album deserves appreciation for its progressive and technical complexity, with great sound work and dynamic energy that gave me the chills more than a few times during my listen.
Nazghor, band photoCredit: Unknown
On the other hand, I have to admit that the album's musical concept had limitations that overshadowed the band's potential and collective character. While the production deserves all the respect, the limited musical vision and sound design don't have enough freedom to make Nazghor as special as they deserve to be, in my opinion.
Nazghor, band photoCredit: Unknown
In conclusion, listening to the Seventh Secular Crusade album was a great experience, even though it didn’t directly speak to me. Traditional black metal origins with live sounding super tight performances, blending Scandinavian folk influences of Sabaton, symphonic elements of Dimmu Borgir, and power metal of Iced Earth. I hope you enjoyed the review – thank you for your time and attention.
Nazghor, Seventh Secular Crusade (2022) Album Front Cover Artwork Credit: Unknown
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