And now, fourteen years later, Nazxul has reformed and released a new full-length. Problem is, it might as well be a different band, because Iconoclast sounds markedly different and cleaner than the inscrutable, alien darkness of Totem. Not that this is a bad thing, though – Iconoclast is a terrific black metal album, suffused with the atmosphere, melody and majesty of once-peers like classic Emperor and Gehenna.

Album intro “Apoptosis” creeps in with a chorus of plucked and fluttering strings, like spiders skittering over hollow corpses. It’s delicate and unsettling, and a welcome change from the pompous bombast that frequently opens many symphonic black metal offerings. And then “Dragon Dispitous” swoops in on clattery wings, gliding through a thunderstorm swollen by a near-constant backdrop of ominous keys. Again, it’s less the screaming gothic grandeur of a band like Dimmu Borgir than it is the mysterious wall-of-sound approach made famous by In the Nightside Eclipse, although much clearer and pristine. Actually, Nazxul’s haunting melodies and regal symphonics most remind me of a mostly-forgotten third-wave black metal act called Mactatus, and their gem of a debut, Provenance of Cruelty. If you know that album, you’ll also draw the comparison almost immediately.

The rest of the album is just as grim and authentic, with a mostly midtempo gait that’s carried along by some truly murderous, gargled vocals. “Black Wings,” like “Dragon Dispitous,” is another relentless, dramatic attack, while “Symbol of Night and Winter” rides in with a ground-shaking gallop, then slows to a stately prowl. “Oath” and “World Oblivion” are dark, soaring processionals, seemingly written for Hell’s generals. And “Stain of Harrow” peaks with a screaming, triumphant blare. There are also a number of short instrumental tracks, as effective and transcendent as they are spare, like Blut Aus Nord covering Vangelis. Album closer “Threnody” is my favorite of these, though, as it most resembles a piece of dread-soaked classical music than the other, more ambient interludes.

So whether you’re one of the patient Nazxul faithful or an neophyte like myself, you’ll definitely want to check out the band’s return to the scene. And even if you don’t like keyboards in your black metal, you’ll find Iconoclast’s use of them classy and serious, with a sound that manages to be lush and restrained at the same time. Another worthy addition to 2009’s already stellar line-up of black metal releases.

A statement from the band reads as thus: “After a decade of silence, the long-anticipated return of the Antipodean cult has arrived. The forefathers of Australian black metal, NAZXUL have unleashed upon the world the long-awaited Iconoclast album. Eight new tracks of unrelenting black metal in the unique style forged by NAZXUL in the early ’90s, which set these faceless phantoms apart from their contemporaries. The Iconoclast work explores brutality, speed, epic orchestration and occult themes more intensely than any previous releases by NAZXUL, thus crowning Iconoclast as a supreme release and NAZXUL’s Magnum Opus. NAZXUL is dead – all hail NAZXUL!”

PLEASE NOTE: Eisenwald will be handling the release of Iconoclast for all European territories while MORIBUND while handle all other parts of the world.

NAZXUL released their Totem debut in 1995, and the album has since been afforded “classic” status. The band followed up it with the Black Seed EP in 1998, further cementing their cult status. A live picture disc followed in 2002, and the band laid low for the rest of the decade, mostly concentrating on soundtrack work. Members have played in Mortal Sin, Sadistik Exekution, Drowning the Light, Slaughter Lord, Astriaal, Vassafor, Nox Inferi, Toil, and Pestilential Shadows among others. Plans are already afoot for worldwide touring, including NAZXUL’s first appearance on North American soil. For more info, consult http://www.myspace.com/nazxul.