RSS Feed


NIGHTCHROME
Immortal EP

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 7/10

When I first saw the cover for this debut outing from Winnipeg, Canada-based act Nightchrome, I thought this was either going to be a black metal or doom metal release, and it’s the latter which is offered up by this duo. Featuring Ben Neufeld (vocals and guitar) and Ian Romano (drums), Nightchrome is another underground band that warrants your attention.

There are four tracks on offer here that embark on familiar formulas. You get the heavy, catchy doomy riffs that are simple yet moody, and then there are the vocals which are at times more of a warble, but they add charm to what is already a sturdy release.

Opening track ‘Steel Bearing Land’ hints at a High On Fire vibe, but there’s extra dimensions to the song as the pace picks up and those traditional metal nuances emerge. Meanwhile, namesake track ‘Nightchrome’ lumbers with distorted menace where the percussion is impressively weighted as if a caveman is bashing his club on a set of rocks. But then there’s an element of surprise with a thrashy dash of razor riffing.

While the band is very much of doomier origins there’s always room for manoeuvre within, and so we get the more melodic escapades of ‘Sultan Of Strife’ with its subtle shifts, but then the chugging menace working in tandem with that rattling percussion.

The vocals have a mid-80s Euro doom / heavy metal charm about them, simple yet effective croons that waft over this thing like a sweeping fog. For me though it’s the music which takes precedence, the riffs acting as chunky, meaty waves of accessibility.

It all comes to a head with the slow-burn that is the title track, ‘Immortal’. At first wistful then mournfully mid-tempo, the true sound of doom is purveyed here as the combo lumbers with menace, yet never quite as rain-soaked as it could be.

If you like traditional doom metal with flavours of versatility then Nightchrome are worth checking out, because this is solid, simplistic trudging bridging the gap between more oaken, traditional doom metal and some of the newer, more stoner acts.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share