Band: Nephesh
Title: Inter Armas Silent Leges
Label: Nokthernal Hemizphear Records
Release Date: November 15, 2009
Review By: Steve
Track Listing:
1. Vae Victus
2. Sangre Inmortal
3. Tormentor of Sin
4. Death I Will be Your Death
5. Fortaleza Eterna
6. Psalmorum
7. Sentence Darkness
8. Inter Armas Silent Leges
9. Symphony of War
10. Apocalypsis 15
I am trying my hand at black metal with this review. All of us know many the realities and perceptions of black metal be they satanic or poor production. Some of those may be true or may not but that is not the point of this review and nor will it be discussed except for production quality. I have never been a fan of black metal due to the some of the symphonic parts and the vocals. They are just not my style, but when asked to review this a second time by a good friend I felt I really needed to give it a listen.
Nephesh is a five-piece black metal band out of Bogota, Columbia and signed to Nokthernal Hemizphear Records. Originally, Nephesh started in 2003 as a death metal band, and then moved into more symphonic black metal a few years ago. Their album Inter Armas Silent Leges has a Latin translation of “in the midst of arms (i.e., in time of war) the laws are silent.”
Production wise, Inter Armas Silent Leges has relatively good production. The only knock about the production was that the recording is not very loud. The symphonic elements of the music tend to drown out the guitars and drums so it is hard to tell how good of musicians they are at times. From what I did hear, the guitars sounded fast and heavy. Vocally, Nephesh uses some low and high-pitched screams along with some deep, throaty growling spoken words. Nephesh’s lyrics center around a lot of social and war issues, which I can imagine have to do with living in Columbia. Some of the lyrics are hard to understand without having the lyrics in front of you, but that is common with black metal. Some of my favorite tracks on this album are: “A Cold Breath” and “Sentence of Darkness.”
Overall: I think this is a good album. I will definitely keep a few songs off this album in my current iTunes playlist. The production is acceptable, the music is good, and the message has some underlying Christian themes. If you buy the CD, the inserts come with Spanish and English lyrics so you can follow along. If you like black metal with some 90s nostalgia then you definitely need to check out Nephesh and support their music.
RIYL: Frost Like Ashes, Cradle of Filth