The Night Eternal : '"Cold Velvet"

 The third album from this German band finds them perfecting their darker take on heavy metal. When you take the brighter, anthemic feel, it sounds less like power metal. Not unlike what Unto Others tries to do, these guys actually nail it with more balls. The powerful vocal performance helps with this. They balance the darker chords they let ring out on the second song with metallic drive. The bellowing croon of the vocals takes command of the song. The guitar solos are pretty tasteful rather than just masturbatory shredding. 

There is more of a Dio-gallop to "Caught in a Spell". Production-wise, this song is as stunning as it captures a legit 80s sound while not turning their backs on a more modern mix rather than just trying to pay tribute to years past. "When the Last Candle Dies" has a strong chorus melody, but the verse feels like a continuation of the previous song, and I had to go back and give it another listen. This vibe carries over into "The Veins of Time", though there is more of a Judas Priest feel to the riff of this one. There is a darker, more deliberate feel to "The Watcher of the Burning Veil". It eventually speeds up into the epic proto-thrash gallop they prefer.

"Shape of Sorrow" is more focused than the previous, which gives the chorus more impact. It only wanders off into a side quest around the guitar solo.. "Dance on Crimson Ground" is a trippy power ballad of sorts, as it ebbs back and forth rather than following the typical formula for that sort of thing. I will give this album a 9.5, as it's one of the strongest traditional heavy metal albums by a relatively new band that I have heard in some time.Blade Drops August 21st on Metal  

7.7

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the Night Eternal : "Fatale"

The buzz around this band from Germany  is that they plays a darker take on 80s  Metal that pays homage to Mercyful Fate and Candlemass, though by way of bands like Unto Others and In Solitude. Do not get your hopes up with you came here for the supposed goth side of the equation as there is none , it is pretty much a straight up retro metal album The singer croons in a dramatic baritone. The second track gallops in manner that takes you back to the proto thrash of  Diamond Head.  They album is mixed in a way that focuses on capturing the sound of the era. They are so preoccupied with this rather than that being the natural organic flow of their playing that the song writing feels like they are just checking off the required boxes . Their singer defaults his melodies to the most expected places. When he tries to reach up into a falsetto it's a struggle for him. 

Lyrically it feels like they are just meeting the required tropes, rather than me feeling like they are believing one phrase that is being uttered. "We Praised Death" is only marginally creepier than what they have done on the first two songs, and most of that lies in how the guitar rings out. The vocals are well produced in the use of effects and layering, which in a large part compensates for the weakness of the singer. It is a shame because dark metal with an 80s flare is might preferred choice of music. It teaches me not to get my hopes up for this sort of thing. The guitar solos do not add anything to the compositions. 

"Ionean Sea' finds the guitar harmonies galloping over misty mountains better traversed by Iron Maiden. In fact the music is not really that much darker than Dianno era Maiden. I originally was going to hold this one back for the Gothtober features, but it is no where dark or ethereal enough to be adjacent to goth. In places the vocals feel more adlibs, as they wander lost over the song structure without any thing to hook you. Which is one of the main ways they are separated from the likes of In Solitude. The vocals work better when he leans into his lower register. It does create more of a Danzig croon, but has more power down there than the warbling from previous in the album. It might even make "Stars Guide My Way" the album's best song. Even the guitar solo serves more purpose.

"Run With the Wolves" finds them back in the new wave of  British Heavy Metal, though the riffing owes more to Judas Priest as it is less progressive than the Maiden flavored twin harmony epics, and works more off palm muted guitars. They hold back on most of the choruses rather than going for the big stadium anthems. I think what worked when In Solitude did this was they had a raw punk attitude about them. This is much more polished from a production stand point. "Prometheus Unbound" was also the title of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel.  But it misses the metaphor and goes for the myth. There is more of a thrashing feel to the song. "the Requiem" is more of an interlude. The album closes with "Between the Worlds" which starts off with a riff that sounds like it was lift from "Hallowed Be Thy Name".  I will give this album a 7.5, as it does a good job of capturing this era of metal, and musically executed in a convincing enough manner, though this album is no where near as dark as the hype of it suggests./

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7