Noekk

The Water Sprite
Prophecy Productions

2/10

7 Tracks, 46:25

The word "Noekk" supposedly is the name some ghastly, repulsive, and grotesque creature of mythical proportions. So naturally, what we have here is a violent, molten, face-ripping metal, right? Should be good stuff!

Well, no. In fact, it's not heavy at all. Actually, it's barely scraping the surface of rocking. Unfortunately, Noekk's brand of doomy, prog-rock that really does nothing but drag. It's just not that interesting, or what it should be at the bottom line, good. Yugoth and Baldachin (Schwadorf and Helm of Empyrium), are really stretching their musical boundries…I guess. Baldachin's singing voice sounds caught somewhere in between Gordon Lightfoot or Tom Jones, who are trying desperately to capture a younger musical audience, yet failing. Musically, in most instances, it sounds suited for an easy-listening AM radio station. Only occasionally are there moments that you feel you're listening to what you think you should be getting.

It's hard to fault musicians for cutting against the grain for the sake of doing what you want as a musician, but when the final product just ends up being bad, one can only wonder what they were thinking before releasing it to the public.

Chris Burnham