Nephilim’s Howl have been in existence since 2015 and were hatched from the Finnish black metal underground, and now bring to us their first offering, “Through The Marrow Of Human Suffering”, via one of the most inimitable labels, I, Voidhanger.

The bands sound, if it had to be labelled, could be typified as an amalgam of doom and black metal, in equal parts

The music’s ambience is exposed, the result in part of uncompromising, partisan arpeggios
From the moment the first doom laden riff lays assault to the listeners’ tympanums, it destroys with epic proportions.

Hate Revelations is a particular highlight of these five tracks of uncorrupted, anarchic fervor, which we get from Nephilim’s Howl, and this ambitious delivery. It is a blockbuster of a track which opens and closes with a vicious, flourishing bearing.

Reavhan adorns the ominous darkness with spine-tingling potent vocals, and is a truly dominating influence who pairs barren cries and violent screams in equal measures, which seem to bestride anguish and unhinged rage.

“Of Ordeals And Triumph” is one of the more buoyant “black metal” targets from the album, starting out with a more traditional raw black metal style vocal and music arrangement, but then the trinity still insist on injecting a doomy style into the mix.

As this is the bands first release since their inception, it may only be the hardened fan, who has followed them from day one. For this select group, they will probably lap this up with excitable vigour, but for fans who are tentative towards the doomier side of extreme music, I would encourage them to give this a go, as it may just click, but take those first steps into the Nephilim’s Howl world with tentative strides, as you may need to back out half way through.

I was optimistic for this release, and the band full stop, and even having given it 7-8 listens from start to finish, I would have to conclude with a simple – approach with caution, as it is truly an explosion of savagery, a pure deluge of vehement pulsations and turbulent riffing.

Nephilim’s Howl is a flavor of the blackness, that we all must have a familiarity of, in order to escape the mundane every now and then, and such a portentous release is the sort of thing that cannot go disregarded, as it is simply too colossal and potent to be ignored for long.

This is dark, punitive and pure darkness in equal measures which is astonishing to behold.

(8/10 Phil Pountney)

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