Void Serpent by Nan Elmoth

https://nanelmoth.bandcamp.com

Sure to be remembered as a staple of modern traditional black metal, Void Serpent is an emotive, darkly triumphant masterpiece shrouded in the haze of battle.

Artist statement: This album is dedicated to our brothers who have stood at our side as we walk the Path.

"Black metal, for all the weirdness and infighting it causes among its listeners, can be an ultimate source of expression and power. Over the years, its reaches have expanded, as has the thinking among those who create this sound, and that has made for some pretty exciting times. We’re not necessarily painted into a corner anymore, as much as some fight against such freedom.

California-based Nan Elmoth (they take their name from a forest region in “Lord of the Rings”) are doing a noble job balancing elements from the old guard and adding their own mentality that’s grounded in the present. What that means is, no matter how far along you stumbled into black metal, you can find plenty in which to sink your teeth, evidenced by their great second record “Void Serpent.” The music has been out there since the winter, but the album is being issued on a very limited-edition cassette by Pacific Threnodies, so your chance to behold is here. The three members of Nan Elmoth—guitarist/vocalist/primary creative guide Deathweaver, bassist Asmodeus, drummer J. Ross Foster—deliver four lengthy, noise-scorched tracks that unleash chaos and leave anyone in their way battered. It’s an homage to everyone who stood by their band as they walked their spiritual path and a hellish burst that should have these guys on the tips of underground black metal warriors’ tongues.

“Purification” opens the record with feedback buzz swarming and riffs blasting their way forward. Chaotic vocals scrape as the melodies get speedy and hypnotic, lulling you in and out of trance. The music intertwines and lets a hint of beauty into the scene before a new burst of thrashing infects anew, and doomy curtains begin to fall. “Mistress Hel, I summon thee, consume my flesh and all that which lives!” Deathweaver howls, as the song ends in a pit of punishment. “Ravaged by War and Plague” is the longest song, a 10:24 basher that enters right into the heart of the storm. Guitars penetrate, sounding like they’re unleashing a never-ending storm, while the riffs and vocals combine to rub salt into your brush burns. Feedback hangs like a poisonous gas cloud, leaving you disoriented and likely speaking in tongues, while the back end ignites, pours gasoline on the fire, and drowns out in pained wails.

The title track starts off with riffs that should altar your mind (yeah, that’s kind of a theme on this record) before wild growls arrive, and doom-stained riffs begin claiming lives. Molten soloing spills lava, while the growls go for the throat and refuse to let go. Growls and shrieks mix to form a deadly pair, while the song heads toward trudging heaviness, giving it a weighty, muddy feel. The guitars simmer, the track slows and heaves, and then everything folds into a final turn of chaos. “To Walk the Path…” is a fitting finisher that crawls open and then brings a flurry of crazed shrieks. Doom sickness returns and spreads its pestilent fingers, while growls bubble underneath the din. The growls then turn into a hellscape, as the song stomps and twists, letting go a final dose of cosmic hypnosis. “Alone is the wolf who walks the path of the serpent!” Deathweaver howls, as the track clobbers hard, and everything is sucked back into the stars.

Nan Elmoth have a devastating manner about unleashing the dark forces inside themselves, and “Void Serpent” leaves no bloody stones unturned as they go about their mission. This is black metal delivered in a primitive, charred form, though there is far more substance lying beneath all that soot, especially when digging into the lyrics. This release should keep heathen hearts pumping blood as they find elements of their own journeys locked inside." - MEAT MEAD METAL

"Hope and black metal are two terms that perhaps all too often appear incongruous. But just as quickly as one notices the plethora of run-of-the-mill black metal bands, so should they take note of those that maintain a good balance of keeping the old-school sound while maintaining their own identity.

So here we give you US-based, Nan Elmoth with their ltd. edition 4 track album, Void Serpent.

From label Pacific Threnodies…“Void Serpent’s four long-form black journeys seem to draw equally from modern American styles such as Wolves in the Throne Room and Weakling as they do traditional European sounds like Drakthrone and Windir.”

Much of the material is pretty much break-neck paced tremolo picked black metal. But in such moments as the second half of track 1, “Purification,” there is an infusion of doom. Vocals are straight-up second-wave abyssal screams. The recording is full of unexpected chord progressions, thereby keeping a good balance between traditional second-wave sound and the band’s own stamp.

The stand-out track for me is track 4, “To Walk the Path” as it seems to encompass all that makes this release really good; the black and doom metal elements, the twin guitar layers, strange chord progressions, etc. As I mentioned in the opening, hope isn’t something you find often in black metal. But let us hope that artists such as Nan Elmoth keep the old school sound alive while continuing to make their own mark." -NOISE BENEATH THE SNOW

"The calendar may read July, but for the black metal traditionalist it will always be grim and frostbitten outside, whatever the season.

It’s probably all Immortal’s doing – all those songs about the ice-crusted lands of Blashyrkh, or that music video where Demonaz and Abbath are rocking leather vests with no shirts underneath while they mime playing their instruments out in the snow. The best traditional black metal always sounds like winter.

Nan Elmoth hail from San Luis Obispo, California, where the Mediterranean climate means the temperatures during the winter months seldom drop far enough for it to snow. You’d never know that from listening to Void Serpent, though, which has that same woods-in-winter feeling as many of those classic albums from the second-wave Norwegian bands, right down to their Tolkien-inspired name.

Which isn’t to say that Void Serpent is just Immortal or Burzum worship, though it probably does owe sizeable debts of influence to both Pure Holocaust and Det Som Engang Var. However, the four lengthy tracks that comprise the record end up covering slightly more stylistic territory than that. The album’s lyrics seem heavily drawn from Tolkien’s work as well, with their references to “The Ring,” staring into “the Eye of our Master” and trying to “build an army worth of Mordor.” Musically, guitarist/vocalist Deathweaver intersperses long passages of tremolo-and-blasting with slower, more dramatic doom-inflected passages. The combination of the two give the album an almost cinematic feel – particularly opening track “I – Purification,” a winding, emotive track that cycles through several distinct moods before ending on a dark, foreboding note. On “II – Ravaged By War and Plague,” the song’s furious first half transitions into a more martial-sounding section not unlike something from Bathory’s proto-Viking era. Album highlight “III – Void Serpent” starts off with minor chords and slower tempos before opening up into a majestic chord progression that carries the bulk of the song’s latter half. The busy, ever-shifting riffs throughout most of closer “IV – To Walk the Path” bear the mark of Demonaz without sounding derivative as the track builds towards its sturm-und-drang climax.

So if you’re a fan of traditional black metal, Nan Elmoth will make you very happy. The same goes for anybody that digs more dramatic-sounding bands like Cultes des Ghoules. It probably isn’t the sort of album that will convert anyone not already into black metal over to the cause. If you have a friend who somehow thinks bands like Dimmu Borgir are still relevant, though, it’ll definitely help that friend see the error of his or her ways." - INDY METAL VAULT

"Nan Elmoth offer us a combination of US and European black metal, balancing a good mix of the traditional and modern styles. Think the blast and groove old-school Darkthrone template added to and enhanced by something more adventurous like Wolves in the Throne Room.

From the moment this album starts it sounds gloriously grim, sleek, and murderous. Void Serpent is raw and underground in all of the right ways, scything through the airwaves with blackened malice and venomous delivery.

The music is unrelentingly harsh, twisted with disease, and sharpened to a killing point. The savagery and ugliness of this type of black metal is a thing of dark beauty, especially as the band channel their horror into music that actually knows what it’s doing, rather than being allowed to run around completely feral and unfettered.

With songs that span various speeds and grim moods, (all of them as black as sin), I especially like it when the band take the time to slow down, rein in their more unrestrained and violent side, and focus on creating malevolent atmospheres with slower or mid-paced sections. Having said this though, I also like that the scathing blast beats are never truly out of reach, and ultimately everything that Nan Elmoth have crafted on Void Serpent is extremely rewarding and enjoyable.

There are some very, very good riffs on this release. No matter what speed the band are playing at they never seem to take their eyes off the quality control levels. This also applies to a lot of the blackened melodies that appear; although certainly not a band you’d obviously describe as melodic, dark melodies do lurk in the distortion of the guitars, and are just another weapon in the band’s impressive arsenal.

The singer has one of the more high-pitched and ferocious screams in black metal. His delivery is one of a possessed man, driven mad by tormenting daemons and constant pain. His suffering is for our benefit, of course, as his performance on Void Serpent is commendable and engrossing.

Void Serpent is pure class. What more can I say? At a mere 32 minutes in length this is criminally short, but what material is here is powerful and sinister.

An essential listen for all underground black metal fans." - WONDERBOX METAL

"Yes, their name is a Tolkien reference, but this sounds more like the terrifying aura of the Nazgul than it does the “epic themes” on which most bands of this ilk concentrate. Void Serpent blisters with harrowing, empty, soulless black metal, echoing off empty, crumbling castle walls." - INVISIBLE ORANGES

"4 tracks of old school black metal, Nan Elmoth are all about spreading the evil vibes & Void Serpent does that wonderfully. I – Purification sounds ripped straight out of Hell’s speakers with a deliciously nasty sound.

There is no melody here, no attempt at being anything but as bleak & horrific sounding as possible. The production job adds to the overall relentless blackness that seeps from every note & bitter vocal howl. Songs like II – Ravaged by War & Plague & Void Serpent deliver the band’s evil message with serious aplomb. All with a bit more rhythm & tempo changes then you might initially expect.

It might be only 4 tracks long but with over 30 minutes of music, you definitely get your monies worth here. Especially as this style of music can easily overstay it’s welcome. That’s not a problem for Nan Elmoth though as IV – To Walk the Path ends things on a high.

No surprises here. The blackest of metal riffs with an appealing doomy beat layered throughout its 7 and a half minute run.

There is no denying that to really get all you can out of Void Serpent you have to have an ear for this level of old-school & brutal black metal. It’s certainly not for everyone but it’s damn good!" - GAMES BRAINS AND A HEADBANGING LIFE

"Editado originalmente a comienzos de este año y en breve reeditado en formato tape por el sello Pacific Threnodies, sin lugar a dudas de manera acertada, ya que lo ofrecido a lo largo de sus cuatro temas y con poco más de media hora de duración es un black metal que suena muy old school, no haciéndole ascos a cierta épica, repleto de crudeza tanto en las voces como en la producción y que ha sabido conjugar a la perfección influencias europeas clásicas con otras del black estadounidense. Cuatro temas que tienen la virtud de no dejar indiferente al oyente, temas extensos que permiten que las canciones suene viradas al permitir que se vayan desarrollando perfectamente y con diferentes influencias, capaces de pasar de partes más agresivas y directas a otras más lentas cargadas de odio y putrefacción. El apartado musical es muy correcto, dentro del sonido underground por el cual han optado, sin lugar a dudas tenemos un gran aporte de distorsión por donde se cuelan buenos riffs, con espacio a veces para ejecutar algún que otro solo, la carga de pesadez se ve refrendada por un bajo que si que se manifiesta en casi todos los temas y el omnipresente sonido de batería. Musicalmente su música opta por la crudeza pero también es cierto que hay algo de épica, ambient o incluso un trasfondo pagano. Sin lugar a dudas las voces de Deathweaver helaran la sangre del oyente más de una vez. Considero que este álbum es un buen ejercicio de black metal influenciado por el sonido más clásico de género." - BLACK METAL SPIRIT

"Listening to Nan Elmoth you wouldn’t really think that they hail from the United States let alone California, but they do and they are here to spread their disease as far and wide as possible it seems. With their sophomore full length effort Void Serpent, Nan Elmoth provides you with four lengthy twisted black metal tracks for you to relinquish your soul to. These demon spawn combine more traditional black metal with some hints of modern black metal to create an unholy whirlwind of disgust and restless souls. The four tracks that are provided on this record are long form blackened aural assaults, nothing more, nothing less.

Once you begin listening you ultimately become savaged by the brute force of each of the four tracks. Nan Elmoth doesn’t waste any time at all getting you acquainted and acclimated to their brand of deadly metal. Nan Elmoth begin this record with Purification which begins with some feedback that ultimately makes way for the descending chaos and blackened torture that follows. From then on, Nan Elmoth roll out track after track of sinister and blistering black metal that won’t allow you to escape with your soul in tact. Each track on this release is twisting and nightmarish providing you with an overall sound that is bleak and sordid.

Void Serpent is dissonant and completely stripped down and devoid of all fillers of any sort of fluff. From track to track you are presented with blistering tremolo picked riffs that are only to be backed up by hammering drums and screeches from the ever darkening abyss. As mentioned, Nan Elmoth’s sound as a whole is dissonant and abyssal forever pulling you downward in your never ending descent into the dark. However, each track isn’t just purely blistering and blasting as Nan Elmoth slow the tempo down from time to time to gift you with a plodding and dismal sound that tends to trudge on for some minutes before they accost you once more with the more up tempo style.

Void Serpent isn’t unlike other black metal albums, but even so it is still raw, powerful and utterly sinister. Nan Elmoth work in traditional black metal with more modern black metal seamlessly creating their own sound and not just following in the footsteps of their black metal forefathers. Overall, Void Serpent is a solid black metal release, one that will surely catch and gain the attention of black metal fans everywhere." - CADAVER GARDEN

" Nan Elmoth are a band from San Luis Obispo, California that has been featured before in this zine and plays an epic form of black metal and this is a review of their 2017 album "Void Serpent" which will be released on July 28th on cassette by Pacific Threnodies.

Distorted amp sounds start off the album before going into a very fast and raw musical direction that also uses a great amount of tremolo picking and blast beats while t he vocals are all high pitched black metal screams and the music also mixes in a great amount of second wave influences.

All of the tracks are very long and epic in length while the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and after awhile the riffs start utilizing a small amount of dark sounding melodies and guitar solos and leads are only used briefly while the songs mix in a perfect balance between being influenced by both the European and American styles of black metal and they also mange to capture a touch of folk music into their raw style.

Nan Elmoth creates another recording that remains true to the raw and epic style of black metal that was established on previous releases, the production sounds very dark and raw while the lyrics cover Earth Worship and Ancient Wisdom themes.

In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Nan Elmoth and if you are a fan of raw and epic black metal, you should check out this cassette. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Ravaged By War And Plague" and "To Walk The Path". 8 out of 10." - OCCULT BLACK METAL ZINE

Dark Paeans from the Central Coast of California

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