There’s a reason why all who apply for demotion to writer in these halls are given the same first assignment: Write a 2.5 review. Trying to whip up a good treatise on why an album is middling, meandering, and mediocre can be difficult, particularly when trying to fill up word count requirements and hopefully stay clever and entertaining at the same time. But every so often, writers can be blessed with the opposite problem, when an album materializes into your hands and manages to do nothing overly extraordinary and still succeeds at being a captivating, enjoyable experience. German upstarts Nail By Nail have emerged seemingly out of nowhere, forming in 2023 with no customary demos or lead-up releases before presenting the world with their debut LP Embraced by Darkness. For once, I will skip the fluff and tantalizing lead-in and cut right to the punchline: This is a good album by a fledgling young band, and I am delighted to announce that it is worthy of your time.
Embraced by Darkness uses a well-trodden offering of sound to create music that is familiar while still being noteworthy. All the ingredients any experienced listener is looking for will be present: melodic tremolos, vocals which could shatter glass with their pitch, explosive styled speedy beats and occasional punky chord progressions. Nail By Nail eschew typical second-wave trappings and barbed wire tones, instead opting for a cleaner production palette where everything gets ample room to breathe in the mix, including the bass. The DR allows the album to sound positively lush, among the best I’ve heard in modern black metal. These little touches give moments like the bass and melody interplay of “Crooked Nails” haunting qualities which worm into the listeners’ ears, and the crushing, staccato-laced modern Gorgoroth assault of “Cosmic Fire” real power without drums covering up riffs or vice versa. Across the entirety of Embraced by Darkness, the listener is treated to an album that is pleasant on the ear and gripping to the soul without studio tricks or artificial heaviness by way of compression.
The difference maker for Nail By Nail is the strength of compositions and songwriting. “The Frozen Tomb” manages to use a simple melody to conjure up a whiff of old school Rotting Christ grandeur and triumph. Guitarists Lars H. and Tobias R. switch between groovy riff to foul assault with mercurial seamlessness, with drummer Noel A. using an excellent sense of fills to switch between regular blasts and knowing when to push just that little bit faster for the climax of the composition. Tiny flourishes of piano and smatterings of atmospheric lead in peppers songs with character, with melodies reaching for the cosmic sense of the more beautiful works of Blut Aus Nord in scope if not in technical prowess. Across the entirety of the release, Embraced by Darkness feints towards bigger names with bigger accomplishments, but manages to cobble all the ingredients together into a sound entirely the band’s own.
This strength in songwriting, combined with the exquisite production, leads to Embraced by Darkness being far greater than the sum of its parts. True, as a debut, there are still kinks to be worked out. Track sequencing is a bit uneven, with two doomy openers in a row giving the impression that the album is more mid-paced than it is, with the faster songs bookending the release. “Dagger Nights” makes one last effort at bringing blackened fire to the proceedings but feels a bit anti-climactic given the mood and melodicism of the preceding half hour. Nevertheless, as an individual cut, it presents quality, and indicates something more lethal waiting in the gestating processes of the band’s writing.
Embraced by Darkness has been a challenging listen in the best sense of the term. The more particular listener will note that every single element of praise has been done bigger and better by some other band, and yet Nail By Nail have crafted an engaging, beautiful release which I have enjoyed my time with on each spin. Spacious production and a keen ear for simple but efficient melody have been wielded into tools of promise by this young outfit, and if they can hone their compositional skillset into something more predatory, I believe the future is bright. For now, despite any lack of true surprises, Embraced by Darkness has been a delightful discovery, and any lovers of melodic black metal should give it a chance.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: War Anthem Records
Websites: Official Bandcamp | Official Facebook Page
Releases Worldwide: May 9th, 2025
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