Lustre – Reverence [EP]

Lustre has been around since 2008 and is one of the many projects from Sweden’s Nactzeit. While the guy has about 12 different things going, Lustre is by far his most prolific. It is pretty decent Atmospheric Black Metal, ranging from epic tracks that clock past 20 minutes to shorter ones that are very guitar focused with tons of melody and a very warm feeling, with touches of depression. Fans of older Lustre will remember those 2 to 4 minute albums that were just loaded with atmosphere, raw beauty, and hints of Black Metal, but mostly enjoyed them for the atmosphere of the guitars and keyboard passages.

As time passed, it seems Lustre aimed more for atmosphere and less for the harshness of Black Metal, going for shorter tracks. Nachtzeit performs everything usually including the vocals so it is understandable why he would go this route, but some fans have felt that his work tends to be a bit of same ol’ same ol’, much like a Striborg album. Chop it up into 8 tracks or only put in 3, pretty much one is going to get the same running sound for an entire album. So there is a bit of a niche genre for Lustre; your average Dark Funeral or Marduk fans will find it too sleep inducing and even the more nature inclined ones like Agalloch might feel it doesn’t quite have enough vocal arrangement and focuses too much on guitar and keyboards to really warrant a full listen. Like Depressive Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal artists like Lustre usually draw a crowd very specifically looking for a sound versus a more generalized genre group.

So 2023 is here and Lustre treat listeners with something a little different. Perhaps a counterpart to the earlier EP ‘Forest Wanderer’ which was all instrumental with no vocals, ‘Reverence’ is a single 20 minute track that heralds back to the earliest days of Lustre for its length, but with the more modern touches of the last few years for the band. Still very keyboard driven the atmosphere is still very ‘calming rain’ inducing like the last full length album, ‘A Thirst for Summer Rain.’ Riffs kick with that thunderous tone and Nactzeit’s usual screeches, but there are also clean (backing) vocals here courtesy of J.J. from Harikari from the Sky which is another Post/Atmospheric Black Metal artist with some similar themes in music and style. Like most Lustre work, expect the track to drag a bit and be repetitive. But, one can still look to this EP for something different compared to the others. Lustre has not really been known for clean vocals (usually the keyboards were meant to be the cleanest sound on the album), so this addition, no matter how small, makes this EP a huge step for the band. The snow crunch among the guitars and vocals add atmosphere, but this is no real shift from what Lustre has done before. Drums plod along in simple fashion, but the real draw here will be the keyboards and vocals. It almost ‘Dungeon Metal’ sounding, but not quite delving into that Mortiis territory yet.

Overall, the sound is very calming with little abrasion, and those that know Lustre will come to expect the repetitive nature of the music.  New listeners might feel the song is a little long, and the EP lacks more, but it is a good sample of what Lustre can do. For those who want something a little harsher, Lustre’s early work will have that Black Metal bite to it, but for those who like the more calming side of Atmospheric Black Metal that doesn’t sound like a winter trek will really enjoy ‘Reverence.’