Deathcade

It is quite obvious to me that Sun & Moon records appreciate the music of Nocturnal Depression a lot as since the beginning of the band, they are trying their best in releasing their albums into very beautiful formats and to promote the band’s music in any way. So this album is the manifestation of this bidirectional appreciation, along with the celebration of the ten years of live performances of the French band. Deathcade is not an album with new material, but it is a collection of maybe the most characteristic songs of the band, re-recorded with a new, more mature approach and a better sound. It contains nine compositions taken almost from every album of the band, showing their evolution over time, but also their unique personality in every period.

For those who are not familiar with the music of Nocturnal Depression, they play a special depressive Black Metal, not like the one you may be used to with the ugly melodies and the strange sounds. Their music is very melodic, melancholic and shows a romantic and elegant side of depressive music. Their tracks are, most of the times, slow to mid speed, they express their feelings, regardless of how dark they are, in a very elegant, fragile and delicate way that it can touch deeply the listener. The tracks found in this collection, as I said above, they are the most appropriate songs to show the sound of the band and their evolution through time. They are re-recorded with respect to the old versions but with the intention to deliver a new point of view. Their duration is somewhere between five to eight minutes and they express the feelings and the images very well, maintaining the listeners interest.

The production is very good and fits nicely to the style of the compositions. They have achieved a clean, warm, dark and bassy sound that sets the scenery for the music very well. The guitars are clean and very emotional delivering the melodies flawlessly, while the bass fills the sound and adds the depth that the compositions need. The drums don’t have complex lines and in general they just support the rest of the instruments, something that the do very well. The vocals are at their best period. They are harsh, demonic Black Metal vocals, that they can express the feelings in a very vivid and intensive way. What I liked very much was the guest musicians who participate in this album. The guest vocalists approach the songs differently and show another side of them. The piano on “Anthem to Self – Destruction” and the cello on “Spleen Black Metal” are a really great addition to the entire album. The lyrics are written in English apart from “Spleen Black Metal” which is written in French and they express melancholy, depression, suicidal thoughts, hatred and unfulfilled love.

The band with Deathcade is not offering just a collection of tracks. They have done a very nice job with re-recording those tracks and giving them to their fans with a fresh look. I liked the collection much, as you can find songs from their entire music journey and you can see their character into different periods of time. It comes in a very nice digipack edition, with nice and dark layout. This release is also suitable for those who are not yet familiar with Nocturnal Depression, as they can get a complete opinion about the band and their music from this release. Buy it.