REVIEW: REVEAL – Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth

 

REVEAL – Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth (2011)

High Roller Records

High Roller Records has long been a bastion for traditional and extreme metal. REVEAL’s debut Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth stands out as a deliberate, venomous homage to the genre’s primal roots. This isn’t just retro black metal—it’s a focused invocation of VENOM’s early-’80s blueprint, updated with the precision and ferocity of a band that knows exactly what it wants to conjure.

While Sweden is often synonymous with melodic death metal and power metal, its underground has always nurtured harsher, more primitive sounds. REVEAL fits squarely into that counter-current: a band that channels the raw, chaotic spirit of first-wave black metal rather than the Scandinavian second wave’s icy production and mythic themes. The result is an album that feels both archaic and immediate—like a lost 1982 session reborn in a modern pressing.

It’s impossible to discuss Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth without addressing the VENOM elephant in the room. VENOM’s Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982) didn’t just influence a genre—they named it, and their satanic theatricality, ragged riffs, and punk-infused aggression became the template for countless extreme acts. REVEAL doesn’t hide this lineage; it leans into it. The song structures, vocal snarls, and lo-fi aesthetic all echo VENOM’s approach, yet the band avoids pastiche by injecting its own sense of menace and momentum.

This isn’t copycat work—it’s devotion with teeth. Where some retro acts sanitize the rough edges, REVEAL preserves the danger: the guitars bite, the rhythms lurch, and the overall atmosphere is one of controlled chaos. If you crave that sharp, unpolished black metal sound—where songwriting trumps production—this album delivers in spades.

Originally issued on vinyl via High Roller Records and later repressed on CD by Invictus Productions, Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth has cultivated a cult following among fans of old-school extreme metal. The vinyl edition is a limited run of 500 copies—100 on gold, 400 on standard black—making it a prized item for vinyl maniacs and completists alike.

For listeners who miss the era when black metal was still a rebellious whisper rather than a polished genre, REVEAL offers a potent reminder of why that sound still matters. Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth doesn’t just revisit the past—it reanimates it.

Christine Parastatidou