Naxen - To Abide in Ancient Abysses EP

To gaze into the abyss.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on December 11th 2020) 

Earlier this year I stumbled upon Naxen’s full-length debut, Towards the Tomb of Times. Their ferocious, yet emotive display of black metal pleasantly surprised me and prompted me to look into the rest of their catalogue, which led me to this review’s focal point,To Abide in Ancient Abysses. It’s 18 minutes of music that is brimming with darkness and despair, and without a doubt one of the best things I’ve heard all year.  
The EP is a single song that is split in two, with the first part, “Great God of Grief” taking up most of the runtime, clocking in at just over 10 minutes. The track flows between a few rather typical tremolo riffs, broken up by some slower passages, serving as small breaks and mixing things up a little, as the first half of the song does get a touch repetitive. The most notable section here is the passage starting at 6:40, where the band stops and lets an acoustic riff play, along with LN’s vocals, and from there the band slowly builds up to an explosive climax, setting the stage for the next track. 
Following a short ambient section that connects the two songs, we’re thrust into the second half of the EP, “Dawn of New Despair”. It’s a shorter and more vicious piece, perfectly mirroring what preceded it, as it is much more riff driven, with the band refusing to give the listener much breathing room. There are a couple of slower moments interspersed between the aggressive tremolo riffs, which help with changing up the pace of the song and giving it a bit more weight. A definite highlight is the final leg of the song, where the band alternates between two different riffs, before the song abruptly ends with some guitar feedback, leaving us to reflect on what transpired. 
Lyrically the band dabbles in darkness and despair, as one can infer from the song titles and the general aesthetic. They’re surprisingly well written and delivered, with LN’s raspy howl echoing throughout the EP’s duration. 
The production is also worth discussing, as it’s one of the main reasons why the atmosphere is as great as it is. Everything is well mixed, to the point where even the bass can be heard at some points, accentuating some of the riffs, which have a very sharp tone, but not to the point of being thin, which is common in a lot of black metal. The real winner here though is the reverb that is applied to the instruments, giving them a spacious feel that really makes everything more impactful not only from a sonic perspective, but from an emotional one as well. 
To Abide in Ancient Abysses is a short but effective release that channels the band’s emotions into a potent piece of art that has sadly gone unnoticed by a vast majority of people. It’s a nearly perfect release that I cannot recommend enough to any fans of black metal. 
Highlight: Dawn of New Despair

Rating: 89% 

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