Ninnixu "Collection" CD

Phenomenal USBM from Weyland, Massachusetts! Featuring Ninkaszi from Sacred Whore! For any fans of bands like Demoncy, Profanatica, and Havohej!

1-6: Destructive Forces Obscure
7-11: Ninnixu 4-way Split
12-16: Ninnixu / Nazarene Whore Split
17-19: Bonus Material

I like that one of the songs on this disc is called 'Concerning Necromancy', as though that's the sort of thing you write a helpful, informative pamphlet on.
I guess the big thing about these guys is that they do black metal (of one sort or another) without six-string guitars. Honestly, enough bands have done the all-bass thing that it doesn't even seem worth mentioning anymore- either bass or guitar at this point seem entirely optional if at least one of them is present. The effect it has on the music isn't QUITE negligible, but mostly it just provides a somewhat more decrepit, dirty atmosphere rather than really change the structuring and design of the music. They're just low guitars, in essence.
Admittedly, Ninnixu is rather aesthetically precise. Sludgy, primitive black metal is thrown against walls of subtle synths and samples that make for a uniquely dystopian and dark atmosphere. The massive distortion on seemingly everything alongside the cheap drum machine and some truly strange excursions into ambiance and noise make this decidedly different from the bulk of black metal out there. The black metal itself seems almost like a more industrialized spin on a band like Bone Awl, with much of that band's latent punk influence coming out in the malignant three-note riffs which comprise a lot of this compilation's middle material. Actually, just about everything is poised to make this a great release.
It's the little things that eat away at it, though. While the distorted bass neatly fills in the lows, the high end of the soundstream is left pretty much barren, giving everything a claustrophobic, clipped, condensed, and other c-words feeling, and not in a positive way- it just sounds like the band is recording in a closet somewhere. While I understand the punkiness, I prefer when the band seems to be indulging in Profanatica or Havohej worship; the more intensely tuneless and discordant riffs work well with the overall sound and feeling of this music better than the rather typical punk strumming which makes up the bulk of this material. In addition, while the band is good at cultivating an atmosphere of sullen, apathetic darkness, they don't tend to do much more than circle around the same general aesthetic ideas without expanding upon them. By the end of the first demo included on this compilation, you've heard nearly everything the band has to offer and the rest just drags.
I suppose I feel the same way about this that I do about a lot of Xasthur material: it's perfectly well made and crafted but it's also perfectly safe and small as well. It's as though with the samples and electronic effects you can feel Ninnixu trying to stretch their wings and reach for SOMETHING in particular, but that something is always just out of frame on this release. Maybe in the future the band will find a more unified and open direction, but for now this release is kind of a curiosity item for raw black metal fans more than anything most will want to listen to.

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