Matriarchal ideas and philosophies are under attack, which is hardly new from a world dominated by men in leadership (or maniacal control), who feel the need to stamp out anything they deem a threat. Which is a sign of weakness, but I guess don’t tell them. The arts is an area where femininity and the idea of a goddess thrives, which we visit today.

Downfall of Nur is helmed by sole creator Antonio Sanna, and the project’s new record … take a breath… “And the Firmament Will Burn to Quench the Pain of This Earth.” This is the long-awaited follow-up to 2015’s “Umbras de Barbagia,” and it proves more than worth the way. The record and the band itself centers on Sardinian folklore and the concept of the Mother Goddess juxtaposed with human motherhood, dealing with fertility, loss, hostility, and hope. The record centers on a human who merges his spirit with the Mother Goddess and goes on a journey to help end the constant suffering. You feel every wave and earth pulse crackle over these seven tracks and 80 minutes of thunderous drama dressed in black metal, folk, and doom fury. It asks a lot of your time but rewards in full.

“Disamistade I” opens with sounds floating, voices warbling in the wind, eerie dustiness passing as a bell chimes, crumbling into space. “Beyond The Transcendent Darkness” runs 16:40 and takes a stretch to hover and create an aura, gushing with funereal energy, wails bleeding in the background, the track bursting open fully about six minutes into the mist. Atmospheric black metal hammers, ferocity lapping at wounds, the energy blazing out of control, suddenly calming as strings glaze. The drums then blast as guitars soar, the power combusts, and the earth quakes, the madness subsiding and melting away. “Disamistade II” enters amid piano drizzling, strings chilling, and a female voice calling, folkish elements dusting, fading into the distance. “Underground Halls of the Oldest Goddess Stronghold” runs a healthy 14:40, flooding as drums pelt, guitars glowing as black metal chaos explodes, the shrieks destroying the senses. The playing is fiery and mangling, a misty cold front briefly interjecting, the guitars scorching as anguished cries grab you by the neck, absolutely decimating. The drums punish as the playing spatters blood, a speaking voice rises from the din, the devastation ending in ash.

“The Great Escape” simmers before the steam rises, a mystical reach grazing your shoulder, turning your guts to ice, sounds hypnotizing before blending into the horizon. The title track runs 14:06, punching in and guiding a warm tributary, the moodiness thickening as growls wrench, unleashing viciousness. The leads light as drums ignite, tidal waving energy lapping, shrieks sending jolts of energy down your spine, the volcanic pressure pulling back and allowing calmer winds to take hold. Strings layer as growls choke, the playing upping the ante and peaking with power, bowing in reverence to the clouds. Closer “Deliverance” is the 21:13-long closer, an immersive instrumental that expands the eerie cosmic state, synth boiling as sounds warp as if under gravity from another world. The atmosphere blackens as sounds pulse and murmur, hypnotic waves sizzling your nerve endings. The playing swims through star formations, growing stranger and more electric, the sense of dread getting more profound, the final moments blurring into the sky.

“And the Firmament Will Burn to Quench the Pain of This Earth” not only is a tribute to Sardinia and its mythological history but also a take on our relationship to Mother Earth as relevant  now as it ever has been as we carve away at the planet. Downfall of Nur put so much emotion and heart into this 80-minute creation that it is worth digesting in one sitting to let it fully capture your mind and attention. This is a stunning record that challenges but gives you so much back that it’ll be living in your head and driving your brainwaves.

For more on the band, go here: https://downfallofnur.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.sound-cave.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://avantgardemusic.com/