Nahtaivel - Midnight Sessions

I missed you, Fernando. Three years is a long time to gloss over your decadent style of Dark Electro, and await the return of your eccentric, hellishly deviant character-isms.

'Killer Speaks' was brilliant, if not misunderstood, and with 'Midnight Sessions', the crazed lunatic from Brazil has written a set of songs, each of which is inspired by a different movie, and in a series of varying styles.

The first track on this portion of gold-lined debauchery is entitled 'Illogical Life', and is based around 'Alphaville'. Lyrically, as Fernando promised, the attached dialogue is written as if it's a summary of the film in the form of a soliloquy. It's heavy, fast paced Dark Electro with very distorted vocals.

'The Storm is Coming' is also featured on the recently released 'Synthetic Rage Volume 1' compilation through Engraved Ritual, this one takes on 'Taxi Driver' (a personal favourite), and although it isn't written through the eyes of Travis Bickle (main protagonist/antagonist), the lyrics once again do a sublime job of summing up the film, while playing out a backdrop of aggressive Industrial - almost border lining Rhythmic Noise in this instance, before switching into the territory of pure EBM, with some very danceable little moments. It's like you can pinpoint the moment in the script where De Niro's character finds inner peace.

'He Was a Quiet Man' takes on the film of the same name, and stands out as one of the strongest tracks Nahtaivel have released to date - think brooding Dark Electro that builds up around a spiralling loop and unleashes hell in the form of some of the most disgusting vocals I've heard in a good few releases.

Other tracks on here re-interpret Von Trier's 'Antichrist', Takashi Miike's 'Audition', Amadeus, and even some of Werner Herzog's work. It would be folly to do a track by track by track, but the fineries are laden with both musical originality and unprecedented eccentricity.

I think each track should be given it's own dedication, as whether you get Nahtaivel or not (let's be honest, this album is a bold move), you'll find it hard to fault the idea and basis that this album is built around.

Musically, a lot of the structures are too teutonic and disjointed for the Dark Electro purists, and the change in style from track to track can all but leave you unsure what the hell you're listening to, but the mind of this artist isn't a place to go after dark, and it just so happens that he has recorded his Midnight Sessions, and quite possibly the best record of his career. Feb 20 2012