Album Review: Blutsauger – Nocturnal Blood Tyrants
Band: Blutsauger
Album: Nocturnal Blood Tyrants
Label: De Tenebraum Principio (ATMF Sub Label)
Release date: August 29th, 2025
Country: Italy
Format reviewed: High quality digital recording
Album Review: Blutsauger – Nocturnal Blood Tyrants via De Tenebraum Principio by Ioana
Although I have done my fair share of praising innovative, groundbreaking records, everyone who actually knows me is aware of my bias towards simple, straight to the point black metal. That being said, I could tell from the album artwork alone that Nocturnal Blood Tyrants, the upcoming debut record of Blutsauger was bound to be something right up my alley. Self described as: 0% talent, 0% innovation and 666% attitude, the band have been slowly carving their own pocket of apocalyptic black metal characterized by a complete lack of standard musicality or harmony, just pure, unadulterated misanthropy and ire. There is an unnerving nothingness present in the atmosphere of the album, everything you hear being merely the void tormenting your barely held together mind, as the remnants of the world slowly collapse into eachother. On the other hand, Nocturnal Blood Tyrantscarries the sinister mood of the old legends featuring ghouls and ruins among other elements. In any of the cases mentioned, besides the listener, there is a terrifying lack of human presence.
Speaking now of the music itself, Blutsauger serves us a scratchy, incredibly raw sound that turns the guitar work into a piece of screeching metal and the drums into the pulse of a primordial beast. The vocals cut through the grit and distortion, yet remain drenched in them themselves, all part of a style that strongly resembles early Darkthrone releases. The riffing is simple, repetitive, to a point where one easily gets lost in it, becoming almost part of the music. In that regard, Nocturnal Blood Tyrantsbecomes almost meditative, as it is best experienced laying down at night in complete darkness and solitude. I myself ended up listening to it in the evening, accompanied by the sound of a screech owl. Despite the “0% talent” description, I would dare to argue that the execution, particularly that of the guitars on the record, is actually fairly skillful and tight. Need an actual example to jog your mind? Look no further than “Wrath of the Banshee”. A mid paced opus with some truly eerie slow segments, the track exudes an undeniable negativity, made all the more infectious by the almost dissonant riffing that occasionally shifts to more catchy tones. Feel free to call me out on my nonsense, but I can’t help but feel charmed by it, after all, this is what black metal was intended to be first of all.
Speaking of catchy, the title track, undoubtedly one of my favourites is a masterclass is black metal songwriting, and the fact that it is placed towards the end of the record only serves to amplify its impact further. The song is fast paced, indeed, but in a way that resembles early Bathory more so than the standard blasting we are accustomed to. Now it would be fair to mention that even though this album features its fair share of blast beats, they are, more often than not, a little slowed down, thus leaving room for several interesting musical phenomena to take place. Given the presence of this extra space in the music one can observe the guitars and vocals in a way that allows for a much more cohesive experience, where all the musical elements are evenly balanced. That being said, it is the only sort of harmony that one will find on this track, everything else being just as uncompromising. One of the few instances where we actually find the more unrelenting type of blast beats is the absolute assault of a song known as “Wash them With Fire”, and I am not joking when saying that this left me feeling as if someone had just dowsed me in napalm. As the chorus “Die! Die! Die!” cuts to a close, a chaotic riff breaks out over the already unhinged musical soundscape. What can I say, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!
To conclude, this album is not for the faint of heart, and I would classify it as “For experienced listeners only!”. I’m not saying this as a critique, or with any sort of negative connotation, however. Blutsauger have managed to put out one of the few records that have actually given me chills in recent times, to the extent that only albums such as Sulferon’s “Caelesti Irrumator” have managed to. It has the mood of a literal nightmare, and at times it reminded me of an actual one I had a while ago, during which I recall trying to tear off several gangrenous pieces of my body. What else can I say, it takes one hell of an album to do that, and if you feel like getting profoundly terrified by a piece of music, this is exactly where you should go. 9.5/10
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