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Nocturnal Rites -Tales Of Mystery And Imagination lp

250.00kr

Out of stock

SKU: Lp 531bv Categories: , ,

Description

2021 reissue on black vinyl. Limited 400 copies

Nocturnal Rites are something of an amazing band — amazing in the sense that they couldn’t care less that it’s no longer the early ’80s, and British/gothic metal is no longer remotely in vogue. Tales of Mystery and Imagination recalls the tightly riffed, classically tinged twin-guitar interplay of bands like Helloween and especially Iron Maiden, in the sci-fi/fantasy lyrics as well as the music. It’s a carefully crafted effort that will appeal strongly to fans who, like Nocturnal Rites, still love this particular style of metal regardless of trends. After a rather impressive musical debut dubbed “In a Time of Blood and Fire”, that unfortunately had a hard time getting exposure due to a half-hearted promotional effort by their former label, Nocturnal Rites hit the studio again with even higher hopes. Although there were some flaws in the debut, a template of greatness had been realized and is further developed on this release. A rather sizable change occurred between the last album and this one, and that is the addition of master guitarist Nils Norberg. With the exception of Yngwie Malmsteen, Roland Grapow, and Adrian Smith this guy is probably my favorite lead guitarist still on the metal scene. His solos are loaded with plenty of sweeps and flash, but are a bit more idiomatic and musically varied than that of most shredders. At times I hear influences from Malmsteen, Vai, Friedman, and several other players. In addition to the more technically and musically amazing guitar work, we see a much more prominent set of keyboard lines. It would not be until the next studio release that Mattias Bernhardsson would be added as a permanent member of the band, but already on this release his role is equally as prominent as the other 5. Stand out keyboard parts can be found on “Ring of Steel”, “Warrior’s Return” and “Test of Time”. The overall songwriting here is nothing short of stellar, on every level. Every song on here is amazing and you will find yourself forgetting that there even is such a thing as a skip button while listening to it. However, some songs are so amazing that they tower above even the other classics on here. These highlights include “Ring of Steel”, “Test of Time”, “Pentagram” and “End of the World”. In conclusion, this album coincided with a flurry of amazing releases, such as the debut of Iron Savior and Gamma Ray’s “Somewhere Out in Space”. In the same way that NR’s debut aided Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian in re-awakening the sleeping giant of power metal, this album functions as a testament to the glorious triumph of that giant over the rotting corpses that called themselves metal bands in the early 90s. Essential listening for fans of NWOBHM, Power Metal, and also to fans of true teutonic heavy metal.

Track list:
1. Ring Of Steel
2. Dark Secret
3. Lost In Time
4. The Vision
5. Change The World
6. End Of The World
7. Test Of Time
8. Warriors Return
9. Pentagram
10. Eye Of The Demon
11. The Curse
12. Burn In Hell

Additional information

Label

Jolly Roger Records / Blackbeard Records

Catalogue Number

JRR-BB017

Release Year

2021