South American necro Black Metal outfit Patria offer up thirteen gloriously dark tracks on Nihil Est Monastica, the group's third effort for France's Drakkar Productions. The record holds true to the early roots of Black Metal, utilizing low-fi production (which sounds refreshing these days; it even enhances the album's feeling of bleakness). Lo-fi doesn't necessarily mean 'cheap' in the blackened metal world. There's lots going on behind the long, dark curtain. -- http://echoesanddust.com
