Review by Michael on February 20, 2026.

I still have a couple of very cool releases to discuss which remains from 2025. One of these releases is the debut "Heartless" by Nøkk which was released last November via the German label Solistitium Records. The band is a duo hailing from the United States (although the name might suggest some Scandinavian origin). They have released their debut EP "Repel The Incursion" in 2023 and the kind of black metal the guys are performing is more Scandinavian than anything blackish that came from the US lately. The promo text says about the band that they create dark hymns illuminating the voyage across bleak plains of self-destruction and the inherent need to forge ahead. A grim, existential tale brought to life through caustic black metal.

Well, these are high aims and we all know that sometimes the promotional information doesn't tell us the truth. So what's up with Nøkk?

Obvious influences are the Finnish and the Norwegian scene, especially the faster bands (like Horna, Behexen or early Gorgoroth). Beneath the frosty frenzy there are some catchy and melodic parts to find though so that the result of "Heartless" is a very good and entertaining album that makes it quite easy to get access to. Emm, okay, not the typical AOR listener but the usual black metal fan of course.

Here and there, just like in the title track you can find some gently breathed keyboards and if you listen more closely to the instruments, you can find a lot of great breaks and twists in the songs. The production is very powerful and the drums are especially thunderous and impressive. Vocals are also really grim, just like a barking dog with a sore throat, unfortunately I cannot understand a single word though. But I guess they don't sing about unicorns and fairies when you have a look at song titles such as "The Blind Leading The Lost", "Dead" or "The Hanging Tree".

And although the main focus lies on some sort of aggressive and hateful atmosphere, sometimes some lovely tunes pop out (may it be some bird and flowing water samples or a string instrument) like in "Nøkk The Soulless" that is quite surprising and cheers it all up a little bit. So where darkness there is is also light.

The six songs are quite long for typical black metal songs, they have about 6 - 8 minutes playing time each, only "All The Pretty Things" falls off the edge here with only 5 minutes. But that really doesn't mean that the tracks get boring in any way. No, they are interesting until the end because of the twists that they offer and this is something that is not the case for many black metal releases. The only thing that is missing on "Heartless" is the one real outstanding track that keeps in mind. But as a debut album the band has created a really good one and we can hope that there will be good things to follow.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10