Reviewed - 01/05/05
Lyssa: Rural Gods And Astonishing Punishments
[Black Lotus Records]
One thing I want to know right off the bat is where the hell this band went for the last five years? I mean, I was a BIG fan of this band when their first album "Parade Into Centuries" came out, and remained a fan all the way up to "Athenian Echoes". It was after that album that I never heard of them again. I never heard word of any new albums of theirs, nor did I see any of their albums in any US distros. At least I didn't see them if they were listed on distro sites. So, thinking they had disbanded, you can imagine my surprise when I got "Lyssa" in the mail to review. I thought "Hey! Nightfall got back together!". But noooo... They have been releasing albums all along and I just wasn't aware of them. Such a shame that, as "Lyssa" kicks so much ass, it's easily one of the better albums to come out in 2004.
Back in Nightfall's early days, they were one of the few newer death metal bands I listened to at the time because while everyone was copying Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse, Nightfall was doing something totally unique. It sounds as if in the years I've not kept up with them that they've continued reinventing themselves. "Lyssa" has so many things going on within its tracks that I couldn't possibly comment on them all lest my review be two hundred paragraphs long in which case Metal Coven's Webmistress would be likely to hunt me down and kill me. One thing is for sure is that this album is definitely not as heavy as their older albums. "Lyssa" is some odd mix of technical death metal and gothic metal with a few "noise" aspects. Not noise as in the genre of music, but there's a lot of odd little sound effects splattered all over this album. Hell, there's even some traditional Oriental/Middle Eastern melodies to be found on here. Every damn aspect of this music is good and totally innovative. From the great and sometimes weird guitar melodies, to the great drumming by George Kollias who also happens to be the new drummer for Nile. It's not very often I'm at a loss for words on describing music, but I almost am here. I hope that I explained it somewhat in a way that you can get the jist of how it sounds. Just be assured when I say "Lyssa" fucking rules, and it sounds like nothing else out there. The acoustic parts alone are worth the purchase price of the album.
The vocalist (thankfully) is still Efthimis, who played on all of the early Nightfall albums I own. But... it doesn't sound like the Efthimis I know at all! On the older albums he sings in a very deep, brutal and guttural death metal style, and on this album he's much more varied and less brutal and uses a multitude of vocal styles that fit the eclectic music well. I gotta say this new style just destroys anything he's done in the past, and that's a big compliment considering that his early vocals were great as well. Unfortunately the promo didn't come with the lyrics, so I can't comment on what they are all about.
The production is sweet, with all of the odd little sound effects and unique instrumental ideas blending in well with the main metal aspect of the album. Even their first album had a great production, so this is nothing new for them. But this production is perfect. About as good as any production I've ever heard.
The packaging and layout... well, the copy of the album I got was a reviewer's promo and just contains the cover artwork, band and album recording info and a photo of the band. The cover art is a bit bland, but that's intended here to fit in with the theme and atmosphere of the album. As for the lyrics and the rest of the booklet, I'm sure they're in the original store-bought version of the album, but I regrettably can't comment on them due to this promo not including any of that.
Damn, nothing was greater than getting this C.D. and finding out that this band is still around and making great albums. Well, nothing was greater than that except for playing the album and hearing the excellent, excellent music found within. This is truly a monumental release, and I hope older fans of the band pick it up regardless if they think they won't like Nightfall now that they have left their Death roots. And I'd recommend this as an intro album for anyone that's never heard the band before. This is without a doubt the best Nightfall I have ever heard. Now, I must go out and track down their last few full lengths and EP's that I somehow missed out on. Maybe it was their last label's fault for not promoting their last few albums over here in the USA enough, I don't know. All I do know is that after thirteen years these guys are getting better and better it seems and they should be more well known here in the US than they currently are.
[Black Lotus Records]
One thing I want to know right off the bat is where the hell this band went for the last five years? I mean, I was a BIG fan of this band when their first album "Parade Into Centuries" came out, and remained a fan all the way up to "Athenian Echoes". It was after that album that I never heard of them again. I never heard word of any new albums of theirs, nor did I see any of their albums in any US distros. At least I didn't see them if they were listed on distro sites. So, thinking they had disbanded, you can imagine my surprise when I got "Lyssa" in the mail to review. I thought "Hey! Nightfall got back together!". But noooo... They have been releasing albums all along and I just wasn't aware of them. Such a shame that, as "Lyssa" kicks so much ass, it's easily one of the better albums to come out in 2004.
Back in Nightfall's early days, they were one of the few newer death metal bands I listened to at the time because while everyone was copying Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse, Nightfall was doing something totally unique. It sounds as if in the years I've not kept up with them that they've continued reinventing themselves. "Lyssa" has so many things going on within its tracks that I couldn't possibly comment on them all lest my review be two hundred paragraphs long in which case Metal Coven's Webmistress would be likely to hunt me down and kill me. One thing is for sure is that this album is definitely not as heavy as their older albums. "Lyssa" is some odd mix of technical death metal and gothic metal with a few "noise" aspects. Not noise as in the genre of music, but there's a lot of odd little sound effects splattered all over this album. Hell, there's even some traditional Oriental/Middle Eastern melodies to be found on here. Every damn aspect of this music is good and totally innovative. From the great and sometimes weird guitar melodies, to the great drumming by George Kollias who also happens to be the new drummer for Nile. It's not very often I'm at a loss for words on describing music, but I almost am here. I hope that I explained it somewhat in a way that you can get the jist of how it sounds. Just be assured when I say "Lyssa" fucking rules, and it sounds like nothing else out there. The acoustic parts alone are worth the purchase price of the album.
The vocalist (thankfully) is still Efthimis, who played on all of the early Nightfall albums I own. But... it doesn't sound like the Efthimis I know at all! On the older albums he sings in a very deep, brutal and guttural death metal style, and on this album he's much more varied and less brutal and uses a multitude of vocal styles that fit the eclectic music well. I gotta say this new style just destroys anything he's done in the past, and that's a big compliment considering that his early vocals were great as well. Unfortunately the promo didn't come with the lyrics, so I can't comment on what they are all about.
The production is sweet, with all of the odd little sound effects and unique instrumental ideas blending in well with the main metal aspect of the album. Even their first album had a great production, so this is nothing new for them. But this production is perfect. About as good as any production I've ever heard.
The packaging and layout... well, the copy of the album I got was a reviewer's promo and just contains the cover artwork, band and album recording info and a photo of the band. The cover art is a bit bland, but that's intended here to fit in with the theme and atmosphere of the album. As for the lyrics and the rest of the booklet, I'm sure they're in the original store-bought version of the album, but I regrettably can't comment on them due to this promo not including any of that.
Damn, nothing was greater than getting this C.D. and finding out that this band is still around and making great albums. Well, nothing was greater than that except for playing the album and hearing the excellent, excellent music found within. This is truly a monumental release, and I hope older fans of the band pick it up regardless if they think they won't like Nightfall now that they have left their Death roots. And I'd recommend this as an intro album for anyone that's never heard the band before. This is without a doubt the best Nightfall I have ever heard. Now, I must go out and track down their last few full lengths and EP's that I somehow missed out on. Maybe it was their last label's fault for not promoting their last few albums over here in the USA enough, I don't know. All I do know is that after thirteen years these guys are getting better and better it seems and they should be more well known here in the US than they currently are.
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 9/10 | |
| Release Date: 2004 | |
| Length: 40:16 | |
| Review By: Britton Dicks | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Bands Website: Go Here | |
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