Nyrak: Devourer Of All (2024, Phoenix Mortis Productions)

Nyrak is a Belgian atmospheric black metal band born in 2021 from the mind of Nevel, member of Gotmoor and Āter. The project debuts in 2022 with its first full-length titled Malvs where Nevel is in charge of all the tasks as a musician and which has Xavier De Schuyter, alias Nihil, on vocals. Shortly later that same year Lukas Risbourg (Crypts Of Dusk, Serpents Oath) joined as guitarist who finally also took over as vocalist, in addition to drummer Bram Veldeman (Scarificator, Dark Palace). In 2024 they signed Sven Van Laere as guitarist who currently forms the complete Nyrak lineup.

Devourer Of All is Nyrak‘s second studio album, a full-length album of just forty minutes in length where the Belgian quartet manages to deploy its dark and dense atmospheric black metal in seven intense new compositions where orchestration plays a fundamental role, which also runs by his alma mater Nevel who, in addition to the bass, is in charge of programming and guitars in the studio. From the first bars of The Eyes Of Time you can see the love that its members have put into Devourer Of All, a very well-crafted album that manages to captivate the listener from the first listen.

Lukas Risbourg‘s voice is one of the most interesting features of the album which, together with Nevel‘s guitars, make Devourer Of All one of the songs that I would definitely highlight on the album. Likewise, the album has a perfect balance that we could even call millimeter with precision when it comes to distributing the songs more quickly and those that are calmer where the band not only demonstrates that it is capable of distributing tow without mercy but in songs like Meaningless we can find certain doom touches.

The same thing happens in Lament, a much calmer song where Bram Veldeman lowers the revolutions of his drums without leaving aside the double bass drum so that Lukas Risbourg can once again dazzle us with his raspy but very deep voice. Again I could highlight the orchestration with which Nyrak has given his songs but I think that the perfect example of how perfectly balanced everything is is found in The Abstract Shape Of Life, the last song on the album that encompasses the magnificence of a band dedicated to the extreme in his compositions.

In short, Devourer Of All is an album that can be enjoyed in large quantities, a compilation of great ideas carried out in the best way and interpreted by its creators in a masterful way. Nyrak has a lot of potential and within a genre as hackneyed as atmospheric black metal, they manage to contribute their originality to deliver excellent material that will not leave extreme metal lovers indifferent.