Review by Jeger on February 22, 2025.

To sleepwalk… A way of life for some. The Noctambulist noun can be used as a metaphor for quite a few things: blissful ignorance, one who is weary/exhausted or perhaps a deceitful individual, but it's difficult to decipher what The Netherlands' Noctambulist are implying with the use of the word as I do not speak Dutch. I have however been listening to a lot of post-black metal lately, and I can tell you that these Dutchmen are the cream of this particular sub-genre of black metal. Not sleepwalking, more like treading boldly through the convoluted terrain of the heart and into that sentimental sweet spot - melody-induced euphoria - a paradoxical experience considering what I'm assuming to be some less-than-joyous lyrical subject matter.

Black metal was tailor made for this sort of adaptation and it just so happens to be that post-black metal has become a form of art that I've grown quite fond of as of late. It's so versatile and intelligently put together: smart and cathartic, soulful and stunning. I've been listening to Noctambulist's sophomore LP as I've been writing this, and the vast array of influences I'm picking up is brilliant. Picking up some '90's alternative vibes here during the intro to "Gevoelsmens", but it's one of the tracks that I heard before this one that happens to be the most intriguing one among the lot - "Aderlater" - third chapter in what's been a mostly favorable experience. I don't think they can teach this stuff. Some people are just born with an impeccable ear for melody along with an enviable ability to formulate that knack into magisterial music of their own creation. When you form a band with a few dudes in it like this, then you get stuff like the above-mentioned "Aderlater" off of LPs like Noctambulist II: De Droom, released on February 7, via These Hands Melt.

Where do you begin? Okay, there are some really black metal parts and some very un-black metal parts, but even those are sublime. The intro to "Lichteter" for example. Reminiscent of something like if you mashed The Church - "Reptile" together with some lost U2 B-side and followed it up with some Harakiri for the Sky worship. No matter the form in which these tropes, characters and influences come, you can rest assured that upon exploring them, they will move your soul and lift your spirit; slowly through the cloud cover and into the azure above; finding yourself in a more divine state of consciousness, but only until you become captive to the aggressive black metal stylings of "Duivenbloed & Suiker" with its malevolent shift in aesthetic as blasts and torqued riffs ensue. Keyboards provide a little something to soothe the savage beast.

Love the cover art. I'm fond of metaphor and I can see this photo representing the condition of one's life/mind or the remembrance of a dark past now in ruins. What deeply artistic expressions and with such breathtaking music to boot? Forget about it… With Noctambulist II: De Droom, Noctambulist weigh fate and divvy out fulfilling portions of destiny to the sound of some of the most heartwarming musical passages you'll ever lay your ears upon. It gets artsy, it gets dark, it gets heavy but mainly it gets epically melancholy. A soundtrack to grief or perhaps to a nervous breakdown. Maybe even a sudden understanding of a deeper meaning to life. Deep stuff indeed, but wouldn't it have to be? Music like this can only be accompanied by deep-seated lyrical material that pertains to heartbreak or to the human condition.

To dream… Also a way of life for some. Dedication to an idea of how life should be and the foolish stubbornness to let that notion go, even as you watch it wither before you. Or even as you abandon it; seemingly oblivious to the fact that it has worn to tatters anyway. The dream is dead… Do you move on or do you linger here in this place that time has most certainly remembered and has also made sure to leave its corrosive mark upon? Life anew I think is the move. There's hope to be found here. This album doesn't feel like a misanthropic endeavor, more like some kind of spiritual awakening through the purity of suffering set to intelligent compositions and cathartic passages.

They say that variety is the spice of life, it's also evidently the spice of suffering as well. I've never listened to such a myriad of varying influences be melded together so seamlessly into such a must listen album. Perfection from top to bottom. From tonality to aesthetic, Noctambulist II: De Droom is a genre-dominant tour de force achievement. An achievement for the band but also one for black metal. Yeah, I'm one of those true black metal curmudgeons sometimes too, but there's a place for that and that place is not here. Here is where life's most heart-wrenching moments converge with its most profound. May this album find you where you are now and move you the way it has moved me.

Rating: 10 out of 10