Hailing from the dark Croatian underground Ninhursag recently released their twisted blessing, Rite of Initiating Blessing Part II. I gave both the first part and the new second part a listen back to back, and it left quite the impression for sure. Brooding, unforgiving, and punishing are great ways to describe the two releases. Even though they were released two years apart from one another, they’re able to flow from one release to the next with ease, keeping the same ritualistic atmosphere each time. I’ll give my take on each individual release then both as a whole as I find that it only makes sense to listen to the first and second part back to back.
Rite of Initiating Blessing Part I
After the ritualistic chanting and atmospheric intro, the crushing blast beats and precise guitar riffs are going to be a familiar sound for each release. The drums are quite powerful, with punishing blast beats and lightning fast speed, its rather addictive to listen to and found my self attempting to tap along with the snare, but failing to keep pace. The guitars are dark and twisted, on both tracks. The first track having a very gothic and almost maniacal sound to it, but it only serves to help add on to the oppresive atmosphere. The second track however is a lot more focused and really impressive, almost sounding like the guitars and drums are trying to match each others musical patterns in a harmonious yet dangerous way. There’s very minimal vocals on this release, only on the first track. Its rough, dark and broody, not much more you need really. Add on the esoteric lyrics praising a mystical river, really creates for an atmospheric track kind of reminiscent of Mgła
Rite of Initiating Blessing Part II
There’s a very similar build up on this release just like the last. Except exchanging chanting for eerie guitars that are just as haunting as before. As expected the crushing blast beats and punishing riffs are there and are, in my opinion, better than before. There’s something heavier about this release, and the mastering or mixing seems a little bit cleaner than before. The guitars in particular sound more vibrant than before. The vocals are much more prominent than before. Its vile and rather demonic, a perfect match than the rather forgetful parts from the first release. The lyrics are still esoteric and rather occult, touching upon what ever dark rituals are performed during these sorts of rites. The two tracks on this release are much longer than the first, really adding a sense of progression and a strong grasp of songwriting that keeps the listener hooked. I held onto every note and every hit of the snare with each track, really getting lost in its dark glory. The second track of this release, The Hymn of the Fifty Names of Marduk is quite the opus. Nine and a half minutes yet it feels like it could stand on its own as a single track EP. The range of diversity in the guitars and drums kept me entertained and wasn’t bored at all as many of these types of releases can do to a person.
This was quite the listen and I feel that these two EPs should be listened to back to back as they only help to compliment each other. Little details in each release reflect on one another and they really capture this dark and other worldly vibe that modern black metal bands do very well I feel. As a combined listen, the two EPs clock out as just over 32 minutes, making for a great compilation release in the future I feel. I gladly await and look forward to an actual full length from Ninhursag and will be keeping an eye on this band in the future for more to come. Very much would recommend giving either one of these releases a listen.