Czech death-thrashers Nahum have been around since 2004 and already have five albums under their belts, the latest one released last Friday. Old World Dead comes after the longest hiatus in the band’s existence, six years after Unhuman, so the expectation is reasonably high.
Tomash Nahum (guitars), Jan Balcar (bass) and frontman Pavel Balcar have formed Nahum’s stable core since 2009 with two new members joining in after the last album: Michal Herman (guitars, also in Denying God) and drummer Kamil Rýc (also in Ador Dorath, Eschaton). The band’s style is broadly similar to Vader and mid-period Behemoth (to some extent), with a pronounced thrash influence and some really nice atmospheric touches.
Army, Onward! and Legion Of Death start proceedings in a brutal manner, with a fantastic, powerful production and some really tight riffs. Conspiracy Of Shadows shows a slight atmospheric black metal influence, while Through The Rotting And Cremation and the title track may well sit comfortably in any Vader album. The level of musicianship here is top-notch, with every instrument sounding great, with special attention paid to the super-tight rhythm section.
Hatekiller (with a nice melodic mid-song interlude) and Murder In Madness continue with the same determination and headbangable quality, thrashy death metal bruisers of the highest class. Mantra switches speeds to a much more restrained tempo in its first half, aiming successfully for a trance-like effect and then the album finishes with two more amazing death metal hammers which even manage to add further on the technicality aspect.
Old World Dead not only fulfills but even exceed the great expectation after the six-year wait and Nahum proudly standing among the continental death metal elite. This is an album which will please every fan of extreme music and one of the best in 2025. The striking cover artwork is just the icing on the cake.
9/10
Old World Dead is out now can be ordered from HERE
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