Shadowland
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Compared to their previous release, Nocturnal Rites' latest album is a big disappointment. 2000's "Afterlife" was a breakthrough, a sudden shift in a direction never before traveled. It was power metal, but at the same time everything that power metal was not – dark, evil, heavy, and almost industrial. At times during the scope of "Afterlife," the music would become purely rhythmic and atonal, the only melody conveyed by the vocals. "Afterlife" dared to tread ground never before walked upon by power metal bands. It was one of the most unique and revolutionary albums in a genre that has seen far too much stagnation over the past decade.

But if "Afterlife" was two steps forward from the band's previous sound, "Shadowland" is one step back. Existing sonically between the evil power metal of "Afterlife" and the neo-classical power metal of 1998's "The Sacred Talisman," the most recent Nocturnal Rites album marks a return to previous traditions. And while some might like this revisiting of a more melodic, less heavy sound, I can't help but feel that it is a mistake. "Afterlife" was new. It was unlike anything any other power metal band was playing. And it still is. But prior to that album, there was little to distinguish Nocturnal Rites from the hundreds of other European power metal bands playing heavy metal inspired by Mozart or Wagner. And "Shadowland" is a step back into the obscurity of that widespread sound.

Granted, this is still one of the darkest power metal albums out there. The tuned-down crunch of guitarists Fredrik Mannberg and Nils Norberg is still there, but with less of a presence in the mix. Vocalist Jonny Lindkvist, the band's second vocalist in five albums (and a great improvement over their previous vocalist), sings much more melodically, and the choruses are larger and more epic sounding. And the biggest change comes in Mattias Bernhardsson's keyboards; where "Afterlife" was permeated with computerized sound effects and the musical themes of post-apocalyptic technology, "Shadowland" returns for the majority of its playtime to the background strings + solo instrument keyboard style that is so prevalent among today's power metal and progressive metal bands. In other words, not only is "Shadowland" a failure to move in a new direction, it actually undoes the revolution begun on the previous album, falling back into the realm of cliché and tradition.

Few of the songs on "Shadowland" are memorable, other than a couple catchy choruses (such as in the song "Invincible"). Even after more than a dozen playings over the course of half a year, I can't recall enough of any song to sing or hum to myself, even only a few minutes later. Hell, I'm listening to the album as I write this, and I still don't feel motivated to mention any specific songs. Never a good sigh, especially for a genre like power metal

Even the packaging is on the disappointing side. The cover image looks strikingly similar to the front of Sonata Arctica's "Silence," with one half being bright and sunny, and the other half being dark and despondent. And all the other artwork in the eight-page liner notes consists of little more than manipulations of that one image, either zooming in or flipping it horizontally or keeping the frame of the cover and replacing the image in the middle with a close-up shot of a different part of the same image. The Nocturnal Rites logo has also been changed, reverting to the Megadeth-looking logo that graced "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" and "The Sacred Talisman."

"Shadowland" is not a complete return to a more traditional form of metal, but instead becomes a sort of hybrid of the last several Nocturnal Rites albums. It could be imagined that this album was actually recorded between "The Sacred Talisman" and "Afterlife," so perfectly does this album fit between the sounds of those two. It is a fair album, but balances upon the thin line between common and groundbreaking. And the fact that the band took steps backwards in their sound to come to this point is disheartening. One can only hope that Nocturnal Rites realize the errors of their ways, and return to a darker, heavier, more apocalyptic power metal. Not that there's anything wrong with neo-classical power metal, but that sort of music is being done so often, it would be a shame if a band who once stood above the throngs were to return to being immersed in them.