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It's been a while since I heard a new Black Metal album in this style. Nightbringer's style isn't about blasting your eardrums as much as scaring the shit out of you (or at the very least, the uninitiated within hearing distance.)

This is most slow to mid-paced Black Metal that really puts it all into the atmosphere – horror/suspense-like, dark, evil-sounding as fuck, the kind of soundtrack you don't want to hear if you're stuck in some abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere. The vocals are haunting, almost-whispered rasps that just add a whole more chills to the ensemble. Keyboards are used, but very tastefully and discreetly, and when they're not so discreet, it actually makes sense and they're still not overbearing – nor abused. I could go on and on, but I don't like long reviews. Hierophany of the Open Grave is a 62-minute haunting journey in hell that grabs you from the first note and doesn't let go. Gotta check out their older stuff now...