Novae Militiae’s vision of orthodox black metal has not changed through the years; it has just been sharpened in their third full-length, Apocryphon of the Unborn Light. As the short introduction to “Psalms of the Nameless Fires” dies out, you come face to face with the full, devastating form of the French band. Heavily layered guitars work together to form an impenetrable wall of sound, a place that is asphyxiating and inescapable.
The discordant parts coalesce into something almost formless, creating an overwhelming sense, as if you are in the presence of something so vast it is impossible to understand. As the record progresses, familiar ideas begin to emerge, raising the question of whether Novae Militiae are simply following a prescribed style or trying to make it their own.
It is easy to trace Novae Militiae’s core aesthetic back to fellow French acts, especially later Antaeus and Aosoth. And even though this basis does not deviate much, certain distinctions appear. Their structures radiate a cold bleakness that follows Blut Aus Nord’s calculated structural precision, giving their progressions a sense of inevitability. This structural precision adds weight to tracks like “Beneath the Sealed Heavens”, where slower, crushing passages interrupt the blasting procession. This element was already present on Gash’khalah and Topheth, but it feels better developed this time around.
True to the trademark traits of the French orthodox black metal scene, Novae Militiae, like Deathspell Omega, tends to descend into clean, discordant moments. In essence, this is a mutation of the Ved Buens Ende formula, reduced to its most serpentine qualities in “Scourge of the Dawnless Throne”. This psychedelic inclination makes the band’s ritualistic element more apparent, and it is also where they deviate from their prescribed aesthetic, taking on the same psychedelic energy and embedding it within their harsher parts. This moves closer to the Icelandic scene, and especially the works of Skaphe.
Novae Militiae don’t stray far from the path laid out by the stalwarts of the French black metal scene, but it is difficult not to like Apocryphon of the Unborn Light. The record distils many of orthodox black metal’s defining qualities into a condensed form. The overwhelming sense of an assault, its cold and precise strikes, and also the innately elusive and hallucinogenic nature. So yes, there is not much novelty to be found here. Still, Novae Militiae have produced a work made of the finest components of their established sound, and they have ever so slightly extended it, whether through the Icelandic influence or the occasional traces of Ulcerate’s approach. That is enough.