Greek metallers Nighfall have been toiling around the scene for quite some time now, delivering their mix of black metal, death metal, symphonic & gothic styles to a welcoming fanbase. Their latest Metal Blade release Cassiopeia continues that trend, as the band have crafted another solid album that should please a hell of a lot of listeners.
Granted, though there's nothing here that acts such as Moonspell, Amon Amarth, Amorphis, Dimmu Borgir, and fellow countrymen Septic Flesh haven't already done before, Nightfall have a way with injecting some serious melody into their bombastic attack. Well thought out guitar riffs & solos combat pleasing keyboard passages and perfectly executed vocal growls on tracks like "Oberon and Titania" and "Phaethon", while the rumbling "Colonize Cultures" gallops along with an intensity that bridges the NWOBHM & Gothenburg scenes. Through it all, it's the guitar work of both Evan Hensley & Constantine that really drives Cassiopeia-just listen to their marvelous heavy riffs,tremelo picked harmony lines , and scorching pinch harmonic drenched solos on the crushing "Hubris" for a wealth of the goodness these two can provide. Other highlights here include the pummeling symphonic black metal of "The Reptile Gods" and the epic viking metal sounds of "Astropolis", each one highly enjoyable and well crafted slices of extreme metal.
Some really good stuff here, and had me juggling between a 3.5 and 4, which I'm ultimately going to settle on the latter as, despite the fact that there's nothing new brought to the table here, it's just damn good. Nightfall once again do what they do best here on their ninth release, and you know what, that's good enough for me.
Track Listing
1. Phaethon
2. Oberon & Titania
3. Colonize Cultures
4. The Nightwatch
5. Stellar Parallax
6. Hubris
7. The Reptile Gods
8. Hyperion
9. Akhenaton, the 9th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty
10. The Sand Reckoner
11. Astropolis
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