Nihility - Thus Spoke the Antichrist Review

Many times I’ve made jokes or puns with the band’s names here but the thing is that I consider them very important. I mean, to choose a name is the first important decision to be made by a band. And that’s very serious. I could quote lots of bands that failed due to their names. At times they are simply not adequate with the sonancy of the band or even with their members. Or too long. The reasons vary. On the other hand, I could also quote lots of bands that have really cool names and owe part of their success to them. Names are vital. Mostly bands try to match their musical style with the name. I guess it’s the right thing to do. I wouldn’t recommend a Black Metal band to be called Unicorn, for instance. And, most importantly, the name reflects the philosphy of the band. In this very particular case Nihlity means nothingness or nonexistence. Fair enough.

“Thus Spoke the Antichrist” mixes features of both Death Metal and Black Metal not only lirically but also musically in the solutions Nihlity find for the structures they built. The great thing about the album is its variety of cadence, rhythm, and speed. Variety is a so needed feature in an Extreme Metal effort because it alllows the band to be possible to be heard, if you know what I mean. This album has lots of them and I appreciate a lot the many guitar interventions done during the eight tracks. Just the kind of guitars I absolutely adore. I guess heavy music wouldn’t be heavy music without all the guitar interventions.

This album shows a very mature band. The kind that exactly knows what they’re going to do. I mean, I imagine that the band got together to record the songs and everything went smoothly and easily due to the apparent cohesion of their members. Of course, I may be wrong but that’s the feeling the band passes to the fan who listens to “Thus Spoke the Antichrist.” Album opener “Indulge Self Restraint” gives the fan a taste of what’s to come with the best I think to open an album: a scream from hell and a bright and strong guitar. There is no better way of doing. Another feature the album offers the fan is the vocal duel with a harsher and lower voice contrasting with the lead vocals. This effect is a killer. Unfortunately due to the division Metal music has now this album will be appreciate only by Death Metal fans. Such a pity.

Nihility “Thus Spoke the Antichrist” was released via Black Lion Records in 2019.

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