Trhä - Nvenlanëg (2020)^{Release ID: 26966}

I first came across Mexican one-man black metal artist Trhä shortly after the release of this debut album & generally liked what I heard so I always intended on returning to it for a more comprehensive analysis at some point. However I must admit that my poor experiences while reviewing Trhä’s follow-up release (the “Novej kalhnjënno” E.P. from later the same year) saw me delaying things a bit longer while I built up the courage. Thankfully “Nvenlanëg” is a much more enticing prospect than it’s younger sibling though & has left me feeling generally positive about its merits.

“Nvenlanëg” is comprised of three lengthy tracks that amount to a total duration of 55 minutes with the main component being a lo-fi atmospheric black metal sound similar to Swiss act Paysage d’Hiver. Despite a strong focus on frost-bitten winters though, this record isn’t half as cold as Paysage d’Hiver’s classic releases. There’s a dreamy positivity to a lot of the melodies with the synthesizers being the protagonists more often than not. At times you’ll actually find a similar atmosphere to a blackgaze artist like Sadness only Trhä never veers too far from the path of blasphemy, his vocals opting for the trademark tortured route of so many of his atmospheric black metal counterparts. The regular use of winter synth style ambience breaks the album up nicely & is quite effective in its enhancement of the themes.

I can’t say that “Nvenlanëg” hits my black metal comfort zone particularly. It’s a little too light-weight for that but I do find more than enough depth in its atmospherics to keep me interested. The epic 23 minute opener “Lhelhën Majlan” summarizes the album’s content well while 18 minute closer “Alandlhan ëlh Nítak” is probably the most fully realised example of the Trhä sound. The track in the middle “Nëlhlica” doesn’t appeal to me much though to be honest. It’s simply too melodic for my taste & seems like a step down from the other two tracks.

I can’t say that I feel the fanfare around “Nvenlanëg” is warranted but it’s not a bad record nonetheless. It’s certainly a good three levels up from the awful “Novej kalhnjënno” E.P. & hits the wintery atmosphere it was aiming for pretty well, despite not gathering the darkness & evil around it in the process.

For fans of Paysage d’Hiver, Bekëth Nexëhmü & Evilfeast.