Review Summary: A complete piece of art from the CD packaging to the listening experience
The Downfall of Nur is a one-man band from South America (Argentina). Hailing from Sardania (Italy), Antonio Sanna is the multi-instrumentalist behind this project. Although Downfall of Nur was created in 2013, the man had worked on several other projects (Dreon, Drowned in November, Funeralpolis which was previously named Philosophie des Toren). The Nuragic civilization is the main subject of this concept album and was at its apogee during the middle and late Bronze Age.
The recording process started in November 2013. Antonio recorded demos and kept adding ideas to the drafts. He recorded all the instruments which makes the whole composition work perfectly as a whole. The introduction and the buildup to the heavier sound in Golden Age sets the tone for the whole album. Using folkloric instruments such as the Flute Quenacho and the Launeddas, both archaic instruments of Sardinian/Egyptian origin, Antonio makes your mind drift away into his World. The heavier parts include riffs that you can compare to Panopticon, Wolves in the Throne Room or Alda. The drum beats are more complex than basic blast beats and this can be heard in the buildup where it is the drums that are leading to the heavier parts.
The vocals were executed by Dany Tee (In Element, Aether) and sound like wind during a storm on a cold and very dark night. Although I cannot understand most of what is said, the lyrics tells the story of the Nuragic Civilisation, from the beginning to the end. At first, the vocals are hard to accept but they blend in the sound rapidly and complete the atmosphere rather than change it. What’s really interesting in this album is the alternation of calm and heavy parts. In the Golden Age, the song starts in a calm atmosphere created by the wind instruments then goes into the black metal genre with fast drums and heavy riffing. In the middle of the song, it goes back to that calm atmosphere, led by an acoustic guitar and very few and slow drumming. This constant alternation is what’s keeping you listening to this album without noticing time passing by. It takes you somewhere else, and that’s probably the best part of the album.
The album lasts for about an hour, an hour in which you are taken far away from the World you live in. Downfall of Nur is as of right now, a studio project, meaning that they don’t plan on playing their songs live. Released by Avantgarde Music in 2015, this record is a good contender in the album of the year in the Atmospheric Black Metal genre.
