Neraines isn’t really known in the Norwegian black metal scene but damnit they should be. I picked up “Yggdrasil” and was completely blown away.

This album is so fucking epic! Every time I put this in the player the hair on the back of my neck rises to the dark and majestic creations of Neraines.

The sound production of “Yggdrasil” is really good. You can hear each and every instrument clearly through out most of the album. Nothing is really unnoticeable. This proves black metal doesn’t have to be low production to sound grim and “kvlt”, if you put in the effort to write truly dark and compelling music.

I mean, just listen to the album once and you’ll be blown away.

The vocals on this album are refreshing in a way. They are a prime example of Norwegian black metal vocals done right. No melodic chants here, pure blasphemy straight from the vocal cords.

The drums are something you got to step back and examine because they go beyond the standard black metal drum tempo – extremely fast, similar to Phantom, Marduk, Warkvlt and most “bestial black metal“. I couldn’t find any flaws in Neraines’ drumming. Fantastic drummer, reminds me of Faust (Emperor) at times.

Guitar-wise, every note is played with perfection.The riffs are one thing that hooked me into Neraines’ style of black metal. The first song I heard off of this album was “Astral Colossus” and the riffs of that song are awesome. The guitars sound great, again, no flaws that I could pick out. Great players taking black metal to the next levels of insanity: Neraines.

I give “Yggdrasil” a 100/100 because I truly enjoyed it to the max. This album is something you cannot get rid of once it’s part of your collection. I would advise fans of black metal to purchase this album immediately – it’s hard to find but damnit, it’s worth the search.

Hails to Neraines!