Sovereign Nocturnal was originally released in 2008 by Colorado black metal act Velnias, now being reissued from the folks at Eisenwald with new deluxe packaging and artwork. Just three tracks but totaling about 40-minutes, Sovereign Nocturnal adds doom and experimental folk to Velnias' black metal brew for a sound that will instantly appeal to fans of Agalloch, Wolves in the Throne Room, Drudkh, and Primordial. Opener "Into Arms of Oak" is a mighty piece, 12-minutes of crushing riffs, somber atmosphere (some really lovely acoustic guitar passages), and harsh, moaning vocals. "Risen of the Moor" contains some light/dark sections that might remind some of early Opeth, as it again plays the technical, heavy passages against the softer, more folk based moments quite nicely. The brooding title track closes out the show in fine fashion, with heavy doom laden riffing battling more manic tremolo based black metal excursions, occasionally interjected with glorious acoustic picking and ominous atmosphere. For some Sovereign Nocturnal might be a tad one dimensional and not have a ton of variety (let's be honest, the formula does stay pretty similar from track to track) but these songs are so well crafted that you almost have to overlook that aspect. It's a welcome reissue for those who might have missed it the first time around.
Track Listing
1) Into Arms of Oak
2) Risen of the Moor
3) Sovereign Nocturnal
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