NITE : "Cult of the Serpent Sun"

The third album from this San Franciso metal band. They walk a line between black metal and traditional metal. I can hear where Tribulation might have occupied a similar sonic space at one time if they had not turned into a goth band. The snarled vocals are what roots them in black metal, as you could have someone with their foot on the monitor yodeling and it would sound like a different ballgame. You can draw comparisons to bands like Angel Witch in this regard. These guys are less thrashy and heading in a more Saxon-like direction. 

However, these guys are not just content with paying tribute to a bygone era of metal as they have plenty of catchy riffs, and when you get into the meat of the album, it;'s obvious they are great songwriters. "The Crow" highlights their skills as songwriters as it's anthemic but darker than what 80s metal bands were doing during this time. At times this gives things a proto-thrash pumping fist, but finds these guys occupying a needed middle ground when it comes to traditional metal.  "the Mystic" takes this and goes in a darker direction. It creeps with an impressive groove. "the Last Blade" finds the band showcasing their knack for guitar melodies shining in a manner that is not cheesy, at times recalling Thin Lizzy in places.  If you like guitar solos this album has more than its fair share of them.

I can hear traces of 80s Rush in places on "Carry On". It's really a great testament to their songwriting to compare them to Rush's more commercially viable era. The guitar is very nuanced, and if they said Alex Lifeson was one of their influences, I would tell them to carry on. These guys have super memorable guitar melodies driving this song which is not something you can say about most metal these days. This is also the juncture in the album where things lean in a more rock-n-roll direction.  "Tarmut" alludes to the theme of the album, while musically is a shadow rather than the eye of the sun the lyrics reference, its tense groove is hard not to bob your head to and features stellar guitar work. More juicy guitar solos roll off their fretboard. I typically refrain from using the epic as an adjective but some of the guitar harmonies on this album are deserving of it, like those found on the last song.

 I'll go ahead and round this one up to a 10, I've already gotten several listens to this album m first day of owning it, and feel like this is going to continue to grow on me. If you want a classic metal-sounding album that is just not reheating leftovers this band has you covered,. This rocker is going to slap ya when it drops on March 14th on Season of Mist.  

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