From Norfolk to Norway might sound like the title of a particularly niche folk album or a random distance check on Google Maps but it actually sums up international act Nattehimmel pretty well. Formed in 2022 and featuring both Christian and Christopher Botteri of In The Woods… and Green Carnation, the rest of Nattehimmel consists of Norwegian drummer Sven Rothe (Strange New Dawn), Orcrypt guitarist David Carter and James Fogerty of Ewigkeit and Jaldaboath on vocals and keyboards, the UK contingent hailing from Norwich and Brighton respectively.

Unsurprisingly bearing certain similarities to the Botteri brothers’ previous bands, full-length debut Mourningstar (Hammerheart Records) takes what was promised on three track demo The Night Sky Beckons and expands upon it with style and confidence. Opening with gentle acoustics and quiet vocals sitting atop a rumbling, turbulent background, the self-titled instrumental paves the way for ‘Astrologer’, the album’s true opener switching from clean vocals to black metal rasps, the rolling drums and blasts of speed shifting down the gears into a brilliantly doomy second half.

‘Each Man a Constellation’ and ‘Armies of Tiamat’ switch between mournful doom and fast-paced black metal while ‘Slay the Shepherd’ kicks in after a minute or so of keyboard atmospherics with some serious black metal gloom. ‘Mountain of the Northern Kings’ and ‘Realm of Hades’ are lumbering melancholic monsters, the former a combination of mighty riffs and electronica, the latter equipped with a trippy, cosmic interlude and reverb-filled guitars.

After a dark choral opening, ‘Tales of the Immortals’ turns into a frantic blast of despondent energy, Fogerty sounding like a demonically possessed priest before the record closes with ‘The Night Sky Beckons’, the tremolo-picked opening riff and deep vocals sending us back to the nineties, its proggy Hawkwind middle section taking us back even further.

Harking back to the reverb-filled productions of the nineties, riffs, and themes get the time and space to repeat and stay with you rather than irritatingly disappear after a few seconds. 

Moody guitar solos and atmospheric keys enhance rather than dominate, and Fogerty’s vocals are highly effective both when clean or harsh. Confident and forceful yet occasionally restrained and vulnerable, Mourningstar is a well-crafted, superbly performed modern throwback.

Buy the album here:

https://nattehimmel.lnk.to/mourningstar

7 / 10

GARY ALCOCK