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NOCTURNAL RITES – SHADOWLAND
2002 Century Media
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Nocturnal Rites are easily one of the brightest spots in the Power Metal world. They give a field of Metal overfilled right now with dragon and sword lyrics some credibility. The band last sang about kings and swords on their 1999 masterpiece THE SACRED TALISMAN, the band's last with vocalist Anders Zackrisson. I truly miss his voice and really hope he resurfaces in another band some day. (Or maybe he already has, I don't know.) He left the band because he wanted to do more melodic music, and the rest of Nocturnal Rites wanted to go in a heavier direction to stay in contention with the Metal scene. They acted quickly and hired Jonny Lindquist, also a truly gifted singer. He is the only difference in the band's lineup since they replaced drummer Ulf Andersson with Owe Lingvall after their first album IN A TIME OF BLOOD AND FIRE, way back in 1995. The band unleashed their first album with Jonny on vocals, the punishing AFTERLIFE in 2000. At the time, I could hardly believe it was the same band. The difference between THE SACRED TALISMAN and AFTERLIFE is amazing.

Now, we have SHADOWLAND in 2002, the band's second album with Jonny singing for them. Again, a truly heavy, brutal, melodic masterpiece. This is about as good as Power Metal gets. Pounding and forceful songs can be found on this album, great guitars and tons of double bass drums. Perfect prodution and sound quality. Every song is top notch. Even the album artwork is really nice, the cover is kick ass, and the booklet is very well done with full color and lyrics. I love Nocturnal Rites-- they are the quintessential Swedish Power Metal band! They are my #1 vote to play a future ProgPower festival. Highly recommended.

DISCOGRAPHY:

IN A TIME OF BLOOD AND FIRE (1995) Megarock
TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION (1998) Century Media
THE SACRED TALISMAN (1999) Century Media
AFTERLIFE (2000) Century Media
SHADOWLAND (2002) Century Media
Click here for link to NOCTURNAL RITES' Web Page!
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