Ninnghizhidda - Blasphemy (1998)

I've never been able to pronounce this German black metal band's name, and I'm not about to start now, but they were another victim of the glut of acts emerging in the mid to late 90s during the explosion of black and symphonic black metal. Not that it's exactly 'victimhood', but they offered a sound here that wasn't entirely revolutionary and for whatever factors they never really managed to break out. That said, like a lot of the recordings on Invasion Records, this was some solid stuff for what Ninnghizhidda set out to do, and if you're looking to engage with that sort of symphonic black metal experience, you could do far worse, as the debut album Blasphemy at least sounds good and shows some competence for composition and a balance of metal and orchestration.

The obvious comparison here is Dimmu Borgir, so try and imagine those Norwegians around their 1993-1995 period if they also layered in some death metal growls along with the rasping. In fact, I hear a strong death metal influence just in general, a lot of the tremolo picking rhythms have that decidedly more morbid bent to them, but only to an extent. The growls are actually dominant here, but they also blend in pretty well with the more typical black metal vocal style, and they also will throw in some backing operatic female vocals which sound pretty exotic alongside the meatier harshes. The record is very well paced, around 42 minutes with lots of faster material interspersed with symphonic atmospheres, at least enough that fans of groups like Limbonic Art, Sirius and possibly even Emperor might get something from this, as long as you don't mind the more grumbling, dominant vocals. The drumming here is fast and snappy, the bass thick and fluid, and the synthesizers definitely blend in well without drowning out the tempest beneath them...

Vocals might be a tad too loud, though, and occasionally goofy against the far superior music. But the riffs help to balance this out, they're always well written if not super original, and they embody a good range of metal influences. The leads are also nice and have a bit of classical or folk influence to them. Overall Blasphemy would be an easy album to recommend to anyone into the symphonic side of things back in that decade, whether it be Cradle of Filth or Obtained Enslavement or Gloomy Grim, maybe even their fellow Germans Suffering Souls. There was just the right amount of production, ambition and musicianship potential here for another breakout, and the album still sounds fairly fresh and potent despite its few little flaws. Certainly one of the better kept secrets from that Invasion roster.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]