Nokturnal Mortum
Nokturnal Mortum is a Ukrainian metal band from Kharkiv, formed in 1994. They helped start the Ukrainian black metal scene and are sometimes linked to the early National Socialist black metal (NSBM) movement, though they deny official ties.
The group began as Suppuration in 1991, then briefly used the name Crystaline Darkness before changing to Nokturnal Mortum (with a slightly altered spelling) to avoid a clash with another band.
They gained attention with their debut album Goat Horns, which fused traditional Ukrainian folk influences with black metal and was initially described as “lunar black metal.” Their 1996 demo Lunar Poetry featured anti-Christian themes. Later releases like Marble Moon and Nechrist carried anti-Semitic lyrics and white-supremacist imagery. The band also used swastikas in logos and artwork and praised Nazi ideology in side projects.
Knjaz Varggoth and others in the group have made varying statements about politics. In 2008 he said Nokturnal Mortum was not a political band, and in 2014 the band claimed to have severed ties with NSBM ideas. Despite this, they have remained active in white-supremacist circles, performing at neo-Nazi and far-right shows such as Ukraine’s Asgardsrei festival in 2016 and 2018, and collaborating with the NSBM label Militant Zone. Their music is still described as pagan black metal.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:47 (CET).