Nihïlanth – Graceless Planet

Nihïlanth

Graceless Planet

by Will Travers at 06 September 2021, 6:43 PM

Ah, Paris. The City of love, a cultural hub of Europe and home to many a purveyor of fine art. But amidst the concrete jungle, the little cafes there is a rumbling in the Île-de-France. Growing indifference to the cultural norm, and the origin of this? NIHÏLANTH. The four-piece up and coming Death Metal group having recently released their debut album “Graceless Planet”. An 8 track record full of musical commentary toward the “Graceless Planet”. The album artwork is for me quite strange. It doesn’t quite fit the archetypical Death Metal artwork, but it is quite the wonderful imagery.

Opening the record is “Le Desosseur De Cadavres”, which I have on good authority (google, sorry!) translates to… The corpse boner… I’m not entirely sure that that is correct. Anyway, onto the music. It flies in full of aggression and this walking riff combines with Thomas’ solid drum line to create this dense wall of music. But there are some really nice bluesy melodic undertones that make this stand out to me. Whilst it’s not directly comparable to LAMB OF GOD, I am definitely seeing hints of their influence within the music. “A Promontory Of Pain” puts the foot on the break a little bit, but again it has this real groove feel to it. It’s not all impenetrable music and blast beats (not to say that it’s not present, its just not the focal point of the track). And let’s just take a second to talk about the guitar break, it is FILTHY and I love it. It’s a perfect way to just pull the pace and atmosphere back before reigniting into an energetic and flamboyant finish.

“The Cairn” is the album’s instrumental track and it really is a nice change of atmosphere. It is just well, for lack of a better term, atmospheric. The way that the guitars intertwine with one another to create this light and floaty, almost evervescent environment, just really made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Seriously, just go and put some good quality headphones on and let the music wash over with wave after wave of aural delight.

Closing the album out is “Visions Of Al-Hazred” and we are once again back to this busy, groovy style of play, combined with some of the more stereotypical Death Metal styles. The flitting change between styles is seamless, and joyous to listen to. The track ultimately leading to another fantastic break that fades of into the distance, and straight into my playlists.

Overall, this is a superb debut album. The standard of musicianship is impeccable and the production quality flawless. I would recommend this to any Heavy Metal fan. Seasoned Death Metal fans will appreciate the innovation difference, whilst those looking to move into the scene will find something slightly more accessible. Simply outstanding.


Songwriting: 10
Originality: 10
Memorability: 10
Production: 10