NIGHTRAGE – Insidious [Review]
Genre: Melodic Death MetalLabel: Lifeforce Records
Release-date: September 26th (Europe), September 27th (US)
Reviewer: Monish Shringi
Back in 2000, close friends Marios Illiopoulos and Gus G. (yes Gus G.) formed the super group Nightrage. They managed to get the services of Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates) on vocal duty and session drummer Per Möller Jensen (The Haunted) and released their first album entitled “Sweet Vengeance” in 2003. After the departure of Lindberg and Gus.G, Nightrage went through several line-up changes, with Marios being the only founding member left. Their present line-up consists of Antony Hämäläinen on vocals, Illiopoulous and Olof Mörck on guitars, Anders Hammer on bass and Johan Nunez on drums. This line-up has remained the same since the release of “Wearing a Martyrs Crown” in 2007. Despite the changes, the band has managed to keep a consistent level of sound with all their releases till date.
With their fifth and latest full-length release, entitled “Insidious”, Nightrage look set to conquer the melodic death metal scene once again. They have never failed to impress me, and neither does their new sound. Frontman Antony Hämäläinen recently said in an interview that, "It sounds really heavy, stripped down and in your face. The songs are a bit shorter and with fewer acoustic guitars than Wearing a Martyr’s Crown. It’s a very pissed of sound, so it’s going to be a really heavy record. Lots of guitar solos and melodies there too of course.” And he has said rightly so. The new album is a perfect balance of insane guitar riffs, melodic licks and solos, progressive cleans and some nice acoustic breakdowns. The album consists of fifteen tracks, so there’s no excuse of shortages.
I was very impressed with the clean vocals on this album, even more than Wearing a Martyrs Crown, thanks to guest vocals by Apollo Papathanasio (Firewind, Spiritual Beggars) and Tom. S . Englund (Evergrey). Tomas Lindberg has provided guest vocals on three tracks in this album, along with two solos by Gus G., thus making this album the first to feature the original line-up since “Sweet Vengeance” dating back to 2003.
“Insidious” has thoroughly managed to astound the listener in all facets. Songs like “Delirium of the Fallen”,” Wrapped in Deceitful Dreams”, and “Solar Corona” are simply heart-warming and will make you fall in love instantly. Nightrage have delivered what one would call "an hour of melodic brilliance.” Definitely one of the releases of the year and the one to look out for!
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