Nexion emerged in the mid-2010’s as one of the newer faces in the Icelandic black metal scenes, but they quickly made it clear that they had a sound of their own. 2017’s self-titled EP and 2020’s Seven Oracles showcased a band that took just as many elements of death metal as they did dissonant black metal, weaving together everything in a way that was familiar yet fresh at the same time. Five years later the group has returned with their sophomore full length Sundrung, which expands outwards naturally in ways that enhance the dissonant and melodic sides of their sound without losing the intense foundation. It’s an album that bludgeons when it needs to but also creates a truly entrancing atmosphere, pushing Nexion to a truly high level.
There is still some death metal present to the songwriting of Sundrung, but things seem to have shifted a bit more towards black metal of both the traditional, melodic, and dissonant varieties. Opener “Uþarpaspa” makes an incredible first impression, as it comes in fast and loud with layers of blasting instrumentation and haunting melodies that stretch over that harsher foundation. It’s outwardly abrasive for the first minute or so, but as things continue there are natural pauses where the melodies really have the chance to soar and really get you under your spell. For as much as I’ve listened to this year, I can’t think of too many other intro tracks that are this effective and had me immediately hitting the repeat button before I moved onto the rest of the album. That’s not to say that the rest of Sundrung doesn’t reach similar heights, and as you work your way through you’ll hear the band reach comparable peaks but through different methods. Sometimes this comes through slower burning build-ups like on “Gandr” or “Visions of the Seventh Fire” where there are opportunities for the melodies to expand further and generate tension, while “Hymn of the Valkyrjur” takes on a more traditional and even black ‘n roll slant at points. Compared to Seven Oracles the tempos feel even faster this time around and the riffs are a bit more direct on some of the songs, which made it click for me much quicker.
Listeners will find plenty of stunning moments to the instrumentation, but the vocal work of Josh Rood is what completes the entire package. “Uþarpaspa” demonstrates just how diverse the vocals are, as you get raspy screams, sung/chanted passages that come close to throat singing, and even some lower growls in the span of just a few minutes. There’s a considerable amount of power to both the clean and harsh ranges, and both pull you into the haunting and otherworldly atmosphere that the band is able to create. Other songs like “When Raven Steals the Sun” spend much of their run on the harsher end, with equal amounts of growls and higher screams, but they still shift over to cleaner ranges when appropriate and some of these pitches even have a more gothic/doom sound to them. Where a lot of black metal vocalists tend to skew towards one or two specific pitches, I feel like every time I listen to Nexion’s latest effort I’ve been discovering additional nuances.
Both of Nexion’s previous releases have been high quality, but the way the dissonance and melodies come together alongside even faster tempos drew me in much faster than before. In the five years that have passed since their last album the group has clearly evolved every aspect of their music, resulting in even higher peaks and atmosphere that is up there with the likes of Svartidauði. As they come close to their first decade together as a band, Nexion has reached some incredible heights and is worth familiarizing yourself with. Sundrung is available from Avantgarde Music.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
