KAT'S BAND OF THE WEEK - NACHZEHRER (USA)
This week's band of the week pick are quite a new band from across the Atlantic. I got sent their debut demo 'Black Thrash Ritual' on CD-R quite recently and it impressed the (pardon the pun!) HELL outta me! Yes as you can see from the title this band play a style of metal forged in the fires of musical hell itself, influenced by the blackest of the black.
Nachzehrer were spawned in the darkest depths of Massachusetts and feature a couple ex-members of the notorious blackened beast that was Unholy Goatfucker (as well as 26 Beers and In The Shit) so I was VERY excited when this demo dropped through my letterbox, and I was not disappointed in the slightest.
This debut aural attack features 4 songs of VICIOUS black/thrash nastiness, the first song 'Incestual Demoncy' bolting out of the speakers with a rabid possessed rage complete with scathing rasping screamed vokills, the sound of a man who is indeed truly possessed, spitting out odes of unholy blasphemy and necro ritualistic filth, all combined with blistering Scandinavian-style guitar work, which has a very atmospheric touch. Add to that drums full of blackened blasts and bulldozing bestial bass, which are relentless in their powerful attack on the ears, and you have a very venomous potent musical mix. The rest of the demo follows very much in the same direction with some very tasty Nifelheim style lead/guitar work making continued appearances throughout the songs and the Swedish influence especially rears its ugly head on the last two songs of the demo 'Plague Bringer-Death March' and the final song 'Bärsärker-Gĺng'.
I sent some questions over to the bassist Czarnobóg about the origins of the band and this is what he spat back in reply:-
Can you please give me some background history on the origins of the band? You guys remind me quite abit of Nifelheim in places, am I correct in assuming they are a big influence?
Czarnobóg: "Nachzehrer came together over the Summer/Fall of 2009. Originally it was me and Alex from Razormaze [note: he's since left], a local thrash band, just throwing ideas around. When things started to come together I pulled in a couple of drunk metalheads that hung out at the bar in my neighborhood. We wanted to play black metal, but with a more aggressive approach. Nifelheim is definitely a big influence, as well as bands like Gospel Of The Horns and Aura Noir. We try and combine those black thrash elements with more traditional black metal, particularly some of the Norwegian and Finnish bands (Gorgoroth, Behexen, Horna, etc)."
Your debut demo 'Black Thrash Ritual' was released in 2010, any plans to follow this up with a new recording in the near future?
Czarnobóg: "The response to our demo has been great, especially considering we were barely a full band when we recorded it. We're currently recording with Eric from Rogue Mobile Audio and have a few potential splits in the works. We're also in the process of writing new material for an eventual full-length (labels, get in touch!) and then hopefully we'll get some touring in."
What can people expect from your live show?
Czarnobóg: "We play out when we can and always try and push ourselves live, unleashing a total assault of blasphemic drunken chaos! The support from the local metal underground has been great, and for a relatively new band we've also done pretty well for ourselves with the shows we've gotten (with bands like Destroyer 666, Enthroned, Obliteration, Evoken and Nocturnal)."
Why the name Nachzehrer?
Czarnobóg: "In Northern Germanic folklore the Nachzehrer was a form of vampiric undead, originating from a person who committed suicide and was buried in unhallowed ground. Unlike traditional vampires, the Nachzehrer devoured the flesh of corpses and was blamed for the spread of sickness and plagues. New England has its own tradition of disease-causing vampire lore (which grew in the wake of tuberculosis outbreaks in 1800's), and a lot of our songs follow dark folklore or occult themes so we thought it was fitting."
You were also involved with Unholy Goatfucker, what is the current status of this band, on hiatus or split up?
Czarnobóg: "Unholy Goatfucker fell apart awhile ago. A split 7" with Hellhunter came out on Buriedinhell Records and a posthumous split is still in the works with Xiphoid Dementia on Existence Establishment. But there's no plans to resurrect the band, at least anytime soon. However, UGF guitarist Draak has recently joined up with Nachzehrer and has been a big part of the writing process for the newer songs."
Any thing you'd like to add?
Czarnobóg: "Keep an eye out for upcoming releases from us, and I definitely want to encourage metal fans to pay attention to New England Black Metal as a whole. There's a small but growing black metal underground in our region and a lot of bands worth checking out: Ipsissimus, Cold Northern Vengeance, Bog Of The Infidel, Sarcomancy, Nathruzym, Haxen, Vaettir, Katahdin, Morgirion, Witchtomb, Darkwor, Deathgod Messiah, etc."
We also asked the vocalist Hräsvelg about the Swedish-titled song 'Bärsärkar-Gĺng' and this is what he had to say...
Hräsvelg: "The song is inspired from the tradition of Norse warriors consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms before going into battle. While preparing for combat, many Norse soldiers would dress in wolf hide and ingest mushrooms to induce a state of rage and otherwise unknown strength. Often times these groups of tripping warriors were referred to as 'shock troops' due to their sheer disregard for human life. The lyrics for the song were written from the perspective of a beserker and give hindsight to the atrocities that he would have inflicted."
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