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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