Nokturnal Mortum

One of the first significant heavy metal bands to emerge out of Ukraine following the fracture of the Soviet Union, Nokturnal Mortum were also among the first (though hardly the last) to mesh black metal with pagan/medieval themes and their own native folk music, plus, at times, symphonic elements -- a format inspired primarily by the late-‘80s work of Sweden's Bathory. Nokturnal Mortum‘s roots date back to late 1991, in the city of Karkhov, where vocalist/guitarist Knjaz Varggoth, bassist Xaarquath, and drummer Munruthel started a death metal band named Suppuration, recording...