Levitating in the air mid-sacrifice and relishing in the coming blow Italian atmospheric black metal project NUBIVAGANT looms as a despairing spectre overhead in presentation of this third iteration upon what has shaped up to be a unique yet simply executed sound and style. Although ‘The Blame Dagger‘ may yet avoid stepping into actual doom metal territory the dizzying, hypnotic form of clean-sung black metal fusion in hand nonetheless achieves an effective feeling of lucid haunt. Fixated on spiritual conflict and divine judgement this solo venture once again achieves its own personalized fixation without straying from its core conceit, finding a few violent strokes here and there but ultimately extending the greater conversation into a third and equally worthy chapter in their impressive tome.

Nubivagant cast their first spell in 2020 having assumedly been in preparation for some time in the hands of Italian black metal artist Omega who is best known as a prolific drummer (Chaos Invocation, Handful of Hate, Acherontas, et al.) often credited under the name Thorns as well as a multi-talent in various self-directed projects (Darvaza, Deathrow) with this one being a singular vision of hypnotic “monotonous” black metal meant to convey droning entrancement. The effect and tone of this work was unique from the start per the use of clean-sung vocals in steady meter, creating a sort of “eye of the storm” sentience surrounding the ‘Roaring Eye‘ (2020) debut LP where I’d mentioned Bathory, (mid-era) Urfaust and even Candlemass in describing the surreal, droning and doomed feel of that record in review. I’d appreciated the focused, simple effect of the project which’d achieved a clear goal/vision with an almost inadvisably unflinching demeanor. I’m not sure it’d been a divisive release but rather an underrated, unique achievement which could be communicated easily as something like “black metal with clean vocals” that’d tonally veered into a framework similar to epic heavy metal and the simpler forms of raw black metal.

This effect was doubly wrought on the follow up LP (‘The Wheel and the Universe‘, 2022) a grand improvement in the sense that the vocals became more expressive, often surprisingly melodic (“Clothed With the Sun”) or at least prone to escalation which’d just as well have been appropriate for a traditional doom metal album… or even a later Inquisition record in some sense; Though I was assuredly up for a third album I wasn’t all that sure where they could take it without some manner of paradigm shift, or, a different potency in hand. Those expectations could potentially be argued for within the general minutiae of this third album but most listeners will just as well consider ‘The Blame Dagger‘ a third iteration on this core idea, its execution (instrumentation, arrangement, performance and production values) all well in line with the two LPs that’d preceded it.

This is especially true as we cut through rise-and-fall pull of opener “Darkness Upon the Face of the Deep” and appreciate the despairing melody carved by Omega‘s distinct vocals as it is given doubly-paced movement and chord-wrenching refrain as the songs hills and valleys are carved out. This is a fine example of what’d been so great about the previous album and its escalation of the first, here the vocal expression takes on some serious personae beyond the more deadpan tendencies expected otherwise. While this provides some vital energy and momentum up front it’d been the slow-kicked haunt of “Endless Mourning” that’d keyed me back into what’d always been unique about Nubivagant‘s work as the dramatic oscillation of the rhythm guitar layers pair with vocals that only just appear out of phase with their groove, much in the way that early desert rock and ritualistic psychedelic metal both often create surrealistic voicing. From my point of view there is a tormented trip occurring in these opening pieces, a vast and bleakest depiction which communicates the ethos and appeal of this project between those two core starter pieces.

Without any serious deviations applied to the basslines, distant yet directive vocals, and a rabid black metal pace thrust between slower dirges and floaty mid-to-fast burnt guitar layers there has always been a sense that Nubivagant‘s music is either built or fastidiously fortified by precision-fed drumming which is rarely gilded or given to wild flourish. The hypnotic specter conjured here exists by the summon of the storm and not the other way around, in this sense the portal and the outline of each act finds the drums informing when the vocals present. “Who Made the World” gives us a good example of where the floatier, slow-rocking cadence of the vocals achieve a sort of vibrato due to the layering of rhythms atop. The role of the drums may or may not be immediately so obvious as the tensile skeleton of each piece but as the droning type melodies begin to surface in their transcendental subtlety it’ll be worth paying attention to the cymbal/ride work and how it pairs with vocal inflection, my suggestion being that the construction of these pieces aren’t so flatly simple but what they are communicating is actually laser-sighted in its focal efficacy.

So, are the vocals a “gimmick” here? Would this be as profound an act if they’d been flatly rasped out? Not really, and yes, probably. Omega‘s vocals offer a unique je ne sais quoi in terms of emotive timbre, especially as he reaches for the Quorthon-level whoa-oh of “The Voice of a Black Candle”, which is no more-or-less expressive than a harshened equivalent might’ve been but certainly -differently- expressive. This does count for a large amount of the personage available here though the ingenuity of the core idea and its consistent execution of ‘epic’, tormented, and sinister tones takes precedence as the main spectacle for my own taste. I would argue that the appeal of this album, and the two prior for that matter, is extremely simple and easily approached as a curious variation which carries its own nuanced depth which may be limited to a certain black metal fandom willing to take on a more profound paradigm shifts beyond the norm. From this perspective ‘The Blame Dagger‘ is unlike anything else around at present as it makes a good case for itself as an impassioned, somewhat experimental feat from a mind willing to see an ingenious idea through to its full potential. It is a fine third chapter in their larger saga but not yet the complete mastery of the form beyond its intoxicating tangent. A moderately high recommendation.

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