Nightfall – “Athenian Echoes”

Holy Records

Rating: 9,5/10

Holy Records is French label known for being home of some of the best melodyc Doom/Death bands, and Nightfall is definetely its insigning flag. After two CDs (“Parade Into Centuries” and “Macabre Sunsets”) and an Ep (“Eons Aura”) that gave this band a public recognition in the underground, now this Greek outfit attacks again with a true masterpiece: “Athenian Echoes”.

No words can describe the magnificence of this work. Since the beginning with cyclonic “Aye Azure” till the end with “Monuments…”, Nightfall provides a large range of melodies, ideas and sonorities that show their godly talent. “Armada” brings a killer Heavy-Metaloid riff, “The VIneyard” is a devastating cycling melody under a hammering drumming, and the rest are a summum of greatness and majesty. I cannot count all different instruments that appear at this CD: Along with usual guitar, bass and drums, there are pianos, violins, organs, synths, middle-Eastern instruments, keyboards, etc… that correspond with a respective variety of feelings: Brutality, solitude, anger, pride, grief, sadness, hate… All feelings are brought to you in the 50 mins of this excellent work. Nightfall don’t get a 10 coz perfection is unreachable, but if it was… Superb, one of the 10 best CDs ever released in the extreme Metal scene.