The much awaited sophomore full-length by the entity known as Nidernes, and a great follow up to the fantastic "Darkness Cenotaph" full length, which was certainly one of the highlights in 2020.

"Beyond the Gleam of Nightsky" shows a very much lapidated and more ornamented sound in Nidernes, still maintaining the same nightly essence and devotion to the dark flames but now with some different nuances.

While the riffing work was already very much inspired by Finnish Black Metal and legendary acts such as Vlad Tepes, in this album it is even more orthodox and rooted in this tradition, with less space for the more labyrinthine passages in previous works, but certainly conveying the poignant dread of the moribund

The addition of more keyboards and epic clean vocals however bring this album into newer territory, almost reminiscing with some 90s Symphonic Black Metal at times, perfectly channeling the majesty of nightsky as seen from the enchanted woods of old.

With the excellent contributions of revered artists in today's scene and in Black Metal history, such as Lamp of Murmuur on guest vocals in track 4 and 6, Ainul Iblis in the border artwork and the great Wlad Drakksteim in mastering duties certainly elevate even more this offering.

Black Gangrene Productions 2022