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Sweet Vengeance
[ - - - ] When guitarist Marios Iliopoulos was forced out of his band of ten years, Greece's highly acclaimed death metal outfit Exhumation, perhaps he got mad, but he certainly got even. Relocating to Sweden, he began his quest of finding like-minded musicians interested in being a part of what would shortly become Nightrage. Answering Marios' call was fellow shredder and long-time confidant Gus G. (known for his outstanding work in Dream Evil, Mystic Prophecy, and Firewind), legendary screamer Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates, The Crown, Great Deceiver, and Lock Up), drummer Per M. Jensen (The Haunted), clean vocalist Tom S. Englund (Evergrey), and rounding out the line-up, the as of yet known French bassist, Brice Leclercq. Now, with his battalions assembled, Marios prepares for "Sweet Vengeance". Recorded at the famous Studio Fredman with producer extraordinaire Fredrik Nordstrom (Arch Enemy, In Flames, Opeth, etc.), "Sweet Vengeance" overflows with bombastic bursts of enraged melodic death coercion, a la Dimension Zero, with tranquil acoustic passages here and there. Each song blasts forth with memorable riffing and stellar drum work, topped off with vicious shrieks of retribution and pain. "Sweet Vengeance" is a promising beginning for Nightrage, with essential moments being the punishing opener "The Tremor", "Hero", "At The Ends Of The Earth" (both of which feature impeccable vocal interplay between Tomas and Tom), and the savage "Macabre Apparition". The albums’ closing track, "The Howls Of The Wolves", is a serene instrumental that may be metaphorically stating that Marios is now at ease within himself after finally unleashing the elusive emotions that had been tormenting him for far too long. Certainly, vengeance is his. |
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