Nokturnal Mortum

• Genre(S): Black Metal
• Representative Albums: Goat Horns, To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire




Nokturnal Mortum started as death metal band Suppuration in 1992, then turned to black metal and changed name to Crystalline Darkness but "had to change the name back in 1993/94 to Nocturnal Mortum because there already existed a band with that name in western underground." Then the band "changed the letter so that we wouldn't find a band with the same name again like it was the case with Crystaline Darkness." Nokturnal Mortum gained their first Western recognition with the release of their album Goat Horns, their second full length album, notable for having two keyboardists play on the album, often on the same song, and for mixing traditional Ukrainian music with black metal. As traditional instrumentation gained in significance and the lyrical concept moved away from black metal’s patterns, the newer releases are classified as pagan metal.

The band’s first albums were released through The End Records and (as licence pressings) through Nuclear Blast, but the label and band separated after releasing the album NeChrist and a re-release of the “Lunar Poetry” demo because of the band’s ideology: "We had a contract with The End Records but it was broken. We have different points of view. They didn't like our policy, we didn't like the way they do business. They owe us some money. That was enough for a conflict."

Members

Knjaz Varggoth
Vrolok
Astargh
Odalv
Saturious



Discography

Albums

* 1996 - Lunar Poetry (re-released in 2001)
* 1996 - Goat Horns
* 1998 - To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire
* 2000 - Nechrist
* 2005 - Weltanschauung (aka Mirovozzrenie featuring Russian and Ukrainian lyrics)

EPs

* 1997 - Return of the Vampire Lord (re-released with Marble Moon on CD in 2003)
* 1997 - Marble Moon (re-released with Return of the Vampire Lord on CD in 2003)
* 2003 - The Taste of Victory
* 2007 - Eastern Hammer (four-way split with Graveland, North, and Temnozor featuring a new version of "Kolyada")

Demos

* 1992 - Ecclesiastical Blasphemy (as Suppuration)
* 1993 - Mi Agama Khaz Mifisto (as Crystaline Darkness)
* 1995 - Twilightfall (re-released on CD in 2003)
* 1995 - Black Clouds over Slavonic Lands (re-released as bonus tracks on 2005 CD re-release of Lunar Poetry)
* 1996 - Lunar Poetry (re-released several times in different formats)

Splits

* 1997 - Path of the Wolf / Return of the Vampire Lord (Metalagen Records). Split tape with Lucifugum.

Other

* 2004 - Eleven Years Among the Sheep (compilation of old, unreleased, demo, and Suppuration & Crystalline Darkness songs)