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NOCTURNAL RITES ‘Grand Illusion’ Century Media (2005)
The over-saturated genre of melodic heavy metal has been under the spotlight for quite a few years now, with bands like Stratovarius, Gamma Ray and Rhapsody receiving constant attention from both the metal fans and the majority of the music press. It is a fact that the popularity of these bands has started to grow even in more "traditional" places like the United Kingdom, which is something that many of us who live in this part of the world, still find difficult to believe. Personally speaking, I find most of these bands repetitive and exceedingly boring, but there is one quintet from Umea/Sweden for which these characterisations do not apply - this band is called Nocturnal Rites.
The one thing that makes this band different and more to my liking than all of the previously-mentioned outfits is their general mentality as to how melodic metal should sound. They too base their music on keyboard sounds, melodic band choruses and refrains, but the key point was not to allow these elements to become the predominant part of their music. The best way to describe Nocturnal Rites is a band whose soul is devoted to hard rock, but their heart pounds in fast heavy metal rhythms - and that is indeed the perfect combination. This year, the band will be celebrating their tenth anniversary, not only with the re-release of their first two albums, but also with a brand new release - their seventh studio effort, entitled "Grand Illusion".
One of the most positive things about "Grand Illusion" is that it is very welcoming, with it's melodic choruses and catchy refrains becoming dangerously addictive. Now that, is partly what I felt when I first listened to their 2000 release "Afterlife" (2000), but I soon realised that the band has made quite a few steps in the right direction during these past five years. The guitar work on this album is amazingly good, the rhythm section has done it's best to provide a powerful vibe in each and every composition, and finally Jonny Linqqvist's vocals are totally harmonised with the band's music - by far his best performance since he joined the band back in the year 2000.
I am really interested to see the songs that my fellow music journalists indicate as their personal favourites, because I had a really hard time choosing my own. Since I have to name a few, though, I would give my vote to the Axel Rudi Pell-influenced "Never Trust" with it's great melodic refrain, the equally impressive "Our Wasted Days" which I would probably vote as the best song of the album, and "Cuts Like a Knife" whose appreciation towards the legendary US outfit Savatage makes it the heaviest and darkest song of the whole album. This song also features the participation of important special guests such as Henrik Danhage (guitars/Evergrey), Jens Johansson (keyboards/Stratovarius) and Kristoffer W.Olivius (vocals/Naglfar), whose contribution will hopefully generate positive publicity for the band - something that they really deserve.
As I mentioned earlier, Nocturnal Rites belong in the category of melodic metal bands that I particularly enjoy listening to, and "Grand Illusion" is an album that can only strengthen my relationship with their music. Hopefully, I will soon be able to hear how these songs sound live, and I will also make sure to get my hands on the limited edition of this new album, which will have quite a few "goodies" for the band's fans. Invest freely!
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Review by John Stefanis
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