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NIGHTRAGE – INSIDIOUS (7)
Greek/Swedish quintet Nightrage have been around for over a decade but have only really scored the Scandinavian metal scene with their obscene claws. The melodeath five-piece have now released six studio albums – the latest of which, ‘Insidious’, could be the record that finally sees them established as a big-name act. Since the band's inception in 2001 there have been many line-up changes – each new influence having as much potential to convolute the sound as enhance it. So which is it?
Opening track ‘Cloaked In Wolf  Skin’ is a somewhat weak start when you consider everything that Nightrage’s sound encompasses. This straight thrash/death track is plain painting-by-numbers metal. It is not until over two minutes into ‘Delirium Of The Fallen’ that the band’s strengths start to show with a very pretty breakdown complete with harmonised singing and strings, followed by a neat (if short) guitar solo. The fine-but-not-so-inspiring metal continues to ‘Hush Of Night’, where the heavy influence of the Gothenburg scene can be clearly heard in the juxtaposition of accent drums, crystalline guitars and fast-paced melodies – thrown along on rolling drumbeats and pinch harmonics. The best pure metal on the album comes from title track ‘Insidious’ – a harsh gale of angst-driven fury.
‘Insidious’ is potentially a divider; some people will appreciate it in its entirety, others will appreciate only the odd track or chorus. The songs as a whole improve as the album moves along and the Gothenburg sound features more heavily. By the end, Nightrage sound like an In Flames side-project. There are parts of real beauty, like the beginning of ‘Sham Piety’ and ‘Solar Corona’, but the start of the album is utterly outshone by the end and this might put some people off. A highly recommended listen nonetheless.
Reviewed by Annette Simmonds
Insidious is out now on Lifeforce
You’ll like this if… you like In Flames, Children Of Bodom and exercising your patience |
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