Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Nocturnal Rites
Label: AFM Records
Release: 2017
Duration: 43:50
Rating: 3.5/5
Ten years have passed since the last album, the eighth, from Swedish metallers Nocturnal Rites. In 2007 they put out »The 8th Sin«, a record that was pretty controversial among the power metal crowd, and then »went dark« and disappeared from the scene. Even back then they felt they had to move away from the power metal field, or at least take a slight stylistic detour from it, since it automatically pushes you into using and overusing cliché moves. True, at the time of its release »The 8th Sin« felt »blasphemous« compared with the band’s earlier catalog, and to this day it remains the black sheep of their discography. Still, before their decade-long blackout Nocturnal Rites really did have to start moving toward an evolutionary, stylistic transition, otherwise this new »rising from the ashes« would have been completely pointless, an empty gesture.
Those who love the band’s early era can forget about Nocturnal Rites serving up the cookie-cutter power metal they played at full tilt between roughly 1995 and 2005. But »Phoenix« will open the door for the band to fans of modern power metal, whose popularization in recent times is down mainly to Sabaton. That was also the basic aim of »Phoenix«: to take the elements of the first era and breathe modern production and arrangement techniques into them! In that sense the album couldn’t carry a more fitting name, which justifies its core mission. Be born again, rise from the ashes and? Survive. That is, stay standing. With »Phoenix« Nocturnal Rites passed that test with flying colors.
When it comes to the sonic »modernization«, the layered »thickening« of the sound and the compositional structures, even weighing the sound down with synth lines and some symphonic elements, it’s not only the warriors Sabaton that come to mind, but also bands like Serious Black and Bloodbound. Through all of it Nocturnal Rites manage to keep driving down their own recognizable musical track, and so hold on to all their credibility.
So in their traditional manner the band has kept an ultra-sensitive affinity for creating pompous bombast, once again saturated with infectious melodicism. All the new compositions follow this faithfully. There are ten of them. They serve up a nice dose of expressive variety, and the departures are definitely worth mentioning. The most metal-wound and vampirically ruffled is the closer Welcome to the End, which will also please fans of the band’s old records. It’s the most classically power metal-driven track on the new album. On the other hand, thanks to the synths and the search for perfect melodic catchiness, tracks like Flames and the awakening Nothing Can Break Me draw quite a few parallels with the melodic rock revivalism of recent times. It’s also worth pointing out that Nocturnal Rites don’t shy away from breaking up the rhythmic kinetics either, which evokes metalcore breakbeats. The opener A Heart As Black As Coal, for instance, announces this. In short: the album has quite a few deviant moments that strengthen the dynamics of how things unfold and broaden the palette of captured moods. All the songs are devotedly detailed and polished down to the finest touches. From harmonizing the lead vocal with extra choir chants to really interesting mid-eight passages, in which new band member Per Nilsson (Scar Simmetry) unveils his magnificent guitar-soloing masterpieces.
We can say »Phoenix« is a successful album of sonic and stylistic transition for the band. It’s what »The 8th Sin« tried to be ten years ago, but failed at. After ten years Nocturnal Rites approached all this as considerably more mature and experienced musicians, with a clearly worked-out vision of what kind of album they wanted to make. With »Phoenix« Nocturnal Rites enter a new era, leaving traditional power metal clichés far behind and catching up with current production and compositional approaches in the metal genre. They certainly won’t win over fans of their old albums that way, but »Phoenix« carries quite a few elements with which the band can find a new niche of listeners, especially among new generations of power and melodic metal fans.
Nocturnal Rites – Before We Waste Away (official lyric video):
Line-up
Jonny Lindqvist – vocals
Nils Eriksson – bass
Per Nilsson – guitar
Fredrik Mannberg – guitar
Owe Lingvall – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Leif Grubbe – backing vocals
Viggo Vain – backing vocals
Henrik Kjellberg – keyboards, string arrangements
Mattias “Avatar” Eklund – synthesizers (intro parts)
Production
Henrik Kjellberg
Tracklist
01. A Heart As Black As Coal
02. Before We Waste Away
03. The Poisonous Seed
04. Repent My Sins
05. What’s Killing Me
06. A Song For You
07. The Ghost Inside Me
08. Nothing Can Break Me
09. Flames
10. Welcome To The End
