This is one of my favorite black metal albums in my CD collection honestly. And I honestly wish I would play it a lot more than I do! It's almost criminal.

Specifically, this album is sort've ambient black metal, the ambient bits of it looming eerily in the background of the sinister and at times epic sounding black metal riffs for the most part, and other times it adds to the occasional epic quality to the sound. The drum work is very good, much better than in the first album. In the first album, Synkaa Tuuli, a drum machine is being used, but in this, fortunately, a real drummer is being used, which sounds much more natural.

This album has been compared to in the night side eclipse by Emperor, and I can see the slight resemblance, but in my personal opinion... It's done even better! although both are phenomenal black metal releases, however I'd say I personally like this album even better in all honesty.

The production contributes to the harsh and cold sound. While it's not extremely raw, it is pretty raw for your typical atmospheric or ambient black metal. The bass work is fantastic, and I don't typically have an ear for bass work for the most part at this point, although I am starting to recognize it more. For example in the fourth track, feast of the north farm, I remember hearing a very epic sounding bass line as a vicious and evil sounding guitar riff is being played, and even before I noticed the bass work in that song it was one of my favorite tracks.

The vocals are especially evil sounding. They mostly tend to be very high pitched vicious shrieks, to the occasional low growls, or possibly even low crooning clean vocals, like in wondrous sampo, the first track; It's hard to tell but it sounds great either way. One track early on in the album has a specific point in the song where the vocalist sounds possessed... Which is the only way I can describe it honestly. I can't really think of the track it was where it happened, but I can point it out if I were listening to it at this very moment.

Lastly there are the lyrics. I don't ordinarily read along to lyrics, and unfortunately I haven't totally read these lyrics in depth, but they do seem very interesting, being about mostly Finnish heritage and possibly Finnish mythology it seems? I'm not an expert on Finnish mythology, but I do remember looking up some of the names mentioned in some of the songs such as sampo and finding out they happened to be part of Finnish mythology, which always interesting to me, since I've always had an interest in mythology. I'm hoping to remember to read along with the lyrics next time I listen to this album.

Overall, this is a nearly perfect album in my eyes as far as black metal goes. If you like cold, evil, raw, vicious yet at the same time, epic atmospheric or ambient black metal, this album is for you. It is not the typical ambient or atmospheric black metal album that sounds beautiful and soothing(although I do love stuff like that too), but it's a very sinister sounding masterpiece, and I highly recommend it. It's probably one of my favorite releases of 2015, and I feel like it's very overlooked.

I can't believe this is the same band that released "Synkkä tuuli" only two years before this album. In all actuality, the difference between these two albums is extremely noticeable. There is still a lot of ambience to be heard on this album, but unlike the previous full-length, it doesn't seem to be recycled from prison-era Burzum. I was extremely cautious before listening to this album, because after hearing the previous one, a bitter taste was left in my mouth. This album is, in my honest opinion, perfect in every way. Unlike last time, a very sweet aftertaste was left behind. Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus have really outdone themselves here. So, let us take a musical journey through frozen winter kingdoms with the new album from Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus, entitled "The Child Must Die".

Right off the bat with the opening track "Wondrous Sampo", it is clear that these guys mean business. It is a sonic black metal assault on the senses, and really showcases the band's obvious Scandinavian influences. Of course this isn't surprising, seeing as this band is rooted within the country of Finland, but it's definitely a nod to the classic Nordic black metal sound. The guitars are much better this time around, and are clear throughout the album, but fuzzy enough to work well in creating atmosphere. There are some amazing tremolo riffs throughout this album, such as in the epic "Let Them Perish". While the guitar playing here isn't something absolutely original or unique, it is very effective and executed a extremely well. The tone of the guitar is absolutely perfect for the atmosphere. The closing track "The Night She Died" radiates a post-rock vibe that almost reminds me of Explosions in the Sky, in a way. This is definitely a nice surprise. Overall, the riffing is very melodic and a focal point in the music, but is also complemented with extremely orchestral synths.

The ambience experienced in this album is very different than before. Instead of keys inspired by prison-era Burzum, we get epic, symphonic keys more along the lines of Emperor, Limbonic Art, or Dimmu Borgir. They are extremely huge and up front in the mix. "Feast of the Northern Farm" contains some of my favorite keys throughout the short 33 minutes contained within this album. The outro to this song is especially symphonic and epic, and most importantly, beautiful. I was so relieved these guys decided to opt for a more orchestral sound this time around. Sure, the ambient tone on the last album wasn't bad, but it sounded recycled and somewhat bland. This is almost a complete 360 from that. Every song on this album radiates this beauty.

Another extremely huge difference this time around is the implementation of real drums. On the previous album, the drum machine practically ruined the entire experience for me. I'm not opposed to drum machines, and a lot of bands I love use them, in fact. However, the tone of this specific drum machine was completely atrocious. It was almost offensive, because the music otherwise really wasn't all bad. On "The Child Must Die", the dudes decided to incorporate Kol Slavv to play session drums. His performance is absolutely tight, and fits the music extremely well. His double bass and blastbeat skills are definitely there, and provide that signature black metal drum instrumentation. Even when he is not blasting, he has complete control over the drums and is obviously very skilled. He may not do too much that is out of the ordinary for black metal, but he fits the music as he should and doesn't deviate from the formula at all. I really hope these guys continue to use real drums, as it would be a crying shame if they didn't.

Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus have really outdone themselves with this album. Words can really not express just how amazing it is, and really, if you listen to the band's previous album and this one in order, you will hear two completely different bands. If you are new to this band and are reading this review before listening to anything by these guys, I strongly urge you to hear this album first. Only after that will I advise you to hear their first one. Sure, that would be going backwards, but really after hearing this, I really wish I did so. "The Child Must Die" is a spectacular black metal album and in my opinion, is definitely a modern classic. One of the finest metal albums of the year so far, for sure.

Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus are back with their second full length entitled “The Child Must Die” and what a release it is! Ethereal and ambient sounding, the band really strike a chord in the genre of, black metal. I mean you really have to have something special with a name like these guys have. This is my first introduction to the band even though they have been around since 2012. Even so, I definitely like what I am hearing from these guys and their talent for this type of metal is quite evident in these 7 tracks. I think that there is something here that will please most fans of black metal and even extreme metal in general.

Upon listening to this disc for the first time, I noticed almost immediately how the band brings different forms of black metal and a few other elements together to create such a unique sound. The guitar work is classic black metal all the way through, but combining it with keyboards adds an almost “orchestral” type vibe in terms of the delivery of these 2 elements. The influences I picked up on here were Immortal and Dissection, with a slight vibe of very early Dimmu Borgir to top things off. As far as the drums go, there is absolutely no doubt that there are times when they are triggered which, considering the material and its construction and delivery, is not a bad thing. Regardless of that the style of the drums has a definite “rawness” to them that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not so much in the sound of the drums, but more in the vibe and feeling that you get when you listen to them. Here I noticed a nice Emperor vibe and influence somewhere around the “In the Nightside Eclipse” era with a nice little vibe of newer Abigail Williams added in with it. What I liked most about this release was the vocals. This is probably the rawest part of the whole album, but I tell you it really works here. A lot of bands go for a deep growl or a high screech, but the best was I can describe the vocals here is to ask you to imagine the vocals on Cradle of Filth’s “Total Fucking Darkness” demo and the vocals on Impaled Nazarene’s “Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz” and that is pretty much what is going on here. When you take this type of vocal pattern and integrate it with such ambient and ethereal sounding music like you will find on this CD, what you have is a unique piece of fantastic awesomeness that can hold its own with any band who is playing a similar type of metal today.

Being the strong release that this album is, I see this band creating more masterful pieces of black metal music for years to come. I do want to backtrack a bit and mention that the production on this CD is absolutely phenomenal. You know the band takes their work seriously when they have a production level like that on this album. I highly recommend that anyone into the bands mentioned above to rush out to get this CD. In fact get anything that this band has to offer. I know I’m going to.

Philadelphia, PA’s Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus first came to my attention early last year when I received the band’s excellent debut full length Synkkä Tuuli for review along with the equally great Väinämöinen EP. The young band’s grim yet sweeping and melodic brand of icy black metal instantly grabbed my attention; it’s the kind of black metal that sinks its claws in instantly and drags you kicking and screaming into its frostbitten world, something that’s becoming increasingly rare as the scene continues to splinter in innumerable directions, often losing sight of what made it such a powerful form of expression in the process.

As impressive as those prior releases were though, they pale in comparison to The Child Must Die, which sees Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus stepping up their game in every respect. The production is clearer and more defined, the songwriting is sharper and the band sounds even hungrier. The music still has that “watching the sun set over a barren, snow-covered landscape,” vibe, but those frosty, scathing tremolo riffs sound even more beautifully epic, as is befitting the band’s chosen subject matter, the Kalevala. Of course, NB aren’t the first band to tackle the Finnish national epic, but they are one of the very few to do it justice, creating music that is cinematic, driving and triumphant-sounding without sacrificing any of the darkness and sorrow inherent to the black metal genre.

Indeed, what’s great about The Child Must Die is the way in which Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus manage to craft something that sounds distinctive and original while working within the established parameters of the black metal paradigm. The guitar and keyboard melodies that weave through the album are at once familiar and fresh, chilling you to the bone and worming their way into your skull throughout this all-too-brief thirty-three minute journey. It’s no secret that this style of keyboard-laden black metal has been done to death, but what places NB head and shoulders above the hordes is the obvious passion that guitarist/bassist/mastermind Mika Mage still has for the genre in its purest form, and it is this passion that allows him to breath new life into it on The Child Must Die through unwavering dedication and a will to continuously improve and evolve his sound.

The Child Must Die is one of my favorite black metal releases of 2015, and that’s saying something in a year when genre heavyweights like DHG and Marduk are putting out new material. It is a classic example of a high level of craftsmanship within an established form, staying true to black metal’s roots and traditions while at the same time injecting it with some much needed fresh blood. Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus has been flying under the USBM radar for a while now, but if there’s any justice in the godforsaken world of metal, The Child Must Die will be the album that finally brings them out of the shadows.

Originally written for That's How Kids Die.com

Pennsylvania’s Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus return with a new EP entitled Madness Incarnate, and for all interested metal heads, I can say that is exactly what this is. Their 2015 full-length “The Child Must Die” was an absolute monster in terms of production and presentation, and they, without a doubt, continue where they left off with that album. How the band managed to contain such passion and emotion into just 5 songs is beyond me. You can feel each track seemingly bursting at the seams. The feeling here is beyond anything I have ever heard from this band before.

The music is pretty traditional here in terms of how real black metal is played. The riffs take me back to early Dimmu Borgir, Borknagar, and Behemoth albums while the drums, even though they have a traditional aspect to them, take on an almost technical feel in certain parts of the songs. What I like about this band is that, while remaining true to form in the creation of their music, the uniqueness comes from the ambient and ethereal elements they incorporate into the construction of their songs. A lot of bands rely on their sheer brutality to get their feeling and messages across but this band take that brutality to a different level with the use of the ambient and ethereal elements. The brutality may have the same intensity but the feeling comes across on a different plane, a different perspective. A lot of bands don’t use these elements for fear of not being metal enough, but I can say that there are no issues with that here. The band know what they are doing and have mastered their craft with 3 EP’s, 2 Full-lengths, and 1 single under their belts. Even so, you can tell from release to release that this is a band who are still a work in progress and they get heavier and more intense with each release. On top of that there are not too many bands from the United States that perform this type of music who have this much intensity. The level of intensity this band has is mostly reserved for bands playing brutal death metal and grindcore. Most band from the U.S. play it safe when it comes to playing black metal. I am not saying that is a bad thing but Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus aren’t scared to take risks. All the way from razor sharp riffs to well placed keyboard work that seems to carry you to a different realm, The band have taken steps to insure that you receive every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that they put into their music.

In addition to the above mentioned bands, this release is also recommended for those into bands such as Immortal, newer Emperor, and Abigail Williams. The band is poised to take the throne as kings of ambient black metal. Influenced by the bands named here upon many others, they take their craft seriously and only want to give their fans the best music they can possibly create. Every metal head should give this release a chance and add it to their collections. Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus will be a band to be talked about for years to come.