Review: Nanga Parbat “Downfall And Torment” [Sliptrick records]

Sliptrick Records this March have released the debut album “Downfall and Torment” of Italian band Nanga Parbat, hailing from an ancient city of Rome. With Nanga Parbat in their ranks, Sliptrick Records have managed to prove their inner sense for truly unique bands.

Taunting metal scene with three singles earlier this year, the fairly experienced musicians from Nanga Parbat have prepared themselves for a real emotional outburst with their debut album, holding nothing back. The same can be applied for their stylistic games, they’ve mixed so much from various extreme metal genres, but at the point where it doesn’t emerge with avant-garde, they still are so accessibly comfy! The name Nanga Parbat is derived from the dangerous and dreary mountain in Pakistan, famous for a wide range of fatalities; this mountain’s peak is so hard to conquer! “Downfall And Torment” is a very good reflection of this invincible mountain, full of hopes and beliefs, but also so profoundly dark and desperately lonely, bringing up a lot of miscellaneous emotions.

All their orchestral arrangements and spiraling atmospheric patterns sound like a whirlpool of musical ideas and hyperemotions, so tense in their structural creation, but in the same time so lightweight in the spiritual context (like the best of Kataklysm opposes the late Amorphis). So this constant extreme vs. melodic amid the thick layer of progressive background really splendidly carries on all the time. The alternation of melodic and symphonic lines with frequent acoustic passages confidently describes the constant mood changes, but not in a bizarre or totally unexpected way, but with a precise and methodical clearance, like everything is in its proper place. The atmospheric anxiety confronts the rare optimistic and delightful passages of power metal’s fighting spirit (“Through a Lake of Damnation” or “Demon in the Snow”), and tearful heavy metal guitar solos allude on traditional metal foundation. All romantic and melancholic revelations (“Curse of the Thaw” or “Breath of the Northern Winds”) soften up the tough spirit of this ever-changing album, creating the sense of nostalgic longing, almost with gothic sophistication. And despite that this record isn’t overelaborated with practical technical lines, it is eloquently progressive in an integrated manner.

The pagan aura and mystic sounds of violin (“Tidal Blight”) even add some folky twitch to this diversified and cross-cutting debut album of Nanga Parbat, peppering the more habitual mdm. The orchestral parts are also good mood-changers, offering the lavish portion of epic solemnity, classical resignation or symphonic beauty. The extreme and low growls darken “Downfall And Torment”, but clean and pleasant singing lines in contrast carry away all the heaviness and obscurity. But the longest track “Downfall and Torment” with strange acoustic and subtle piano parts not only kills the boredom with constant mood shifts, but also hints on some modern rock vibes. But all these stylistic descriptions and their poised musical skills can’t express real feelings from the listening of this album, so full of controversial emotions.

The deadly fighting, the deepest fears and the hostility of the nature in contrast to chaotic geometrical and colored overabundance of details, so lustrously displayed on the cover art, also refers to the music itself. But all the chaotic disorder of this nervous album can’t destroy the harmonic vision of these talented musicians.

Release date: March 23rd, 2021

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