Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok

Order of Nosferat continues to be a productive black metal band, focused on full-length releases vs. singles, splits, EPs, etc., with Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok being their sixth album since February 2021. The band go for their typical creepy atmosphere with a lot of keyboards and mournful backing vocals that are designed to evoke feelings of unease and even dread. As for the metal, the vocals are an excellent, vicious rasp and the drums are placed well in the mix to drive the tempo but not overshadow anything else. Unfortunately, the guitars are little more than a monotonous, underpowered buzz, like static or a swarm of insects, for pretty much the entire album. Also, as on previous albums, the keys and background vocals sit on the same motifs over and over and become a repetitious drone, so Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok goes by in an indistinct, often rather sedate, fog. Order of Nosferat have stuck to their formula on Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok, but it has resulted in a dull release, distinct from earlier efforts mainly by its worse guitar sound.