Merciful Nuns – Oneironauts XII (Album – Solar Lodge)
Genre/Influences: Industrial, Metal, Crossover.
Format: Digital, 2CD.
Background/Info: New album by the established German formation Merciful Nuns. The album features the main disc plus an extra disc, a kind of EP featuring four extra songs.
Content: The main disc takes off with the title songs featuring 4 parts. We next get 4 more songs which all together create a heavy, powerful Industrial/Metal/Rock composition driven by front man and core member Artaud Seth’s deep timbre of voice. The second disc reveals a more bombastic production creating a kind of dramatic expression. I also noticed organ sounds injecting a psychedelic touch.
+ + + : Merciful Nuns has clearly evolved throughout the years moving towards a more personal sound approach. The new work doesn’t sound that different and brings different influences together. The songs have been meticulously crafted while carried by heavy, Metal-like guitar playing. “Requiem For The Departed” is my personal favorite cut for its menacing atmosphere recovered with melodic synth parts. I once again want to salute the great, artistic, artwork of the album.
– – – : “Oneironauts XII” doesn’t sound as a bite-sized bite but needs a few listening before you really get into it.
Conclusion: Artistic and original but not what I would label as their best album to date.
Best songs: “Requiem For The Departed”, “Oneironauts” + “Oneironauts – The Lesser Light”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: www.mercifulnuns.com / www.facebook.com/MercifulNuns
Label: www.solarlodge.de / www.facebook.com/SolarLodgeRecords
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
