this band is regular as clockwork. every two years a new record and this procedure continues since the debut "unhallowed" from 2003. so without any confirmation, i prepared myself for a new album this year and wouldn't you know it, there was one in the pipeline. the new baby goes by the name of "nightbringers" and the first thing that let me burst with anticipation was the awesome cover art by necrolord a.k.a. kristian wåhlin. i wasn't a fan of the "abysmal" art concept and was therefore more than happy with this great artwork.
he also drew the "nocturnal" cover and in the face of the ten-year-anniversary of that classic dahlia record it seemed like the perfect idea to let the man go for "nightbringers". he did an outstandingly good job. so expectations were high. can "nightbringers" live up to that? partly. the album has some undeniable fantastic moments. songs like "of god and serpent, of spectre and snake", the title track "nightbringers" or "catacomb hecatomb" are pure gold.
on the other side songs like "jars" or "as good as dead" don't really click with me. don't get me wrong, this is complaining on a high level. of course, the album is a good listen - i mean, it's a black dahlia album after all - but i am not sure if i consider this full length a classic in ten years. well, that's just my opinion. go, pick up a copy and form your own on "nightbringers". vinyl variations are plenty for this eighth album of the band.
if discogs information is complete then there are at least ten different colour variations. i snagged the exclusive european mailorder edition on white vinyl. i ordered a copy as soon as pre-orders went up at emp and thus were too early for the impericon edition on opaque red with black splatter. as i didn't want to go through the hassle to cancel an order for another one, i stuck with my white copy and am happy with it. comes with a big poster. 300 copies made. metal blade. 2017.