ALBUM REVIEW: At Night We Prey – Nightfall

Thirteen years between records is approaching SYSTEM OF A DOWN levels of drought for a band. But for Greek melodic blackened death vets NIGHTFALL, the reason for their absence both between records and in the performance sphere has been partially due to lead vocalist Efthimis Karadimas‘ battle with depression. It’s an all too familiar demon that is explored and reckoned with on their solid new record At Night We Prey. It’s a record that easily builds momentum and keeps it going, but suffers from moments of drop off and choices within songs that don’t work that dampen the flow. But the darkness and fury within often rises this album to being great, with songs that are both accessible and catchy in their construction without sacrificing too much brutality.

A melancholic, gothic piano intro, She Loved The Twilight, kicks off the record before building to the explosion of Killing Moon. It’s a grand, sweeping and heavy track with a thrashy tempo that starts the energy off right and sets a tone through how good it sounds from a production standpoint. Every instrument sounds great and nothing is overwhelming, and only the drums are a tinge soft. But nitpicks aside, this is a solid start that demonstrates the talent of the band and the passion with which they’re tackling the dark subject at hand.

But Darkness Forever… man, what a ripper of a song. Immediately it launches into a killer riff and thrash tempo with some of Karadimas‘ best vocals on the entire record; full of passion and absolute rage. It’s a really hooky track as well especially with it’s Egyptian sounding chords that end the track. This is far and away the highlight of the record. It’s a monster. Witches follows up with a slow chug eventually building to a furious pace, but the song becomes a bit loose and odd at times, with the tempo increasing again to a gallop. However it ends on a high note with the final refrain sounding like Karadimas has been whipped up into a frenzy. Whether he’s on the hunt for a witch or under the influence of Satan himself is only for the listener to decide.

Giants of Anger is another high point, as it goes full on doom from the hop. There’s something about the few repeated notes on the guitar that form the backbone of the whole song that lend a haunting quality that makes the song jump out among the rest. It’s almost medieval. When the synth kicks in to back up the guitar, the goose bumps kick up as well. Unfortunately the album runs into its flow problem again with Temenos, which features a great deal of awkward tempo changes and tribal chanting that doesn’t quite work.

Meteor Gods is a mixed bag of a track, with really nice clean guitar arpeggios opening the track on top of some choral chanting before breaking into a thick, descending melody. There’s some more melodic, doomy chugs but once again, the flow is broken by spoken word passages that come across as cheesy and out of place. But pay close attention to the guitar on this track, as it’s a highlight, especially the tone. Martyrs Of The Cult Of The Dead (Agita) is a straight forward riff beast of a track full of atmosphere and more doom than a graveyard. It’s a pretty cut and dry track compared to what proceeds and comes after it, but it’s a well played little tidbit.

But going into the meat of the title track, this is another huge highlight and a must listen track. There’s a wonderful clean guitar intro that descends into a chasm of nothingness before a crushing kick in with a deep, pounding riff that evokes more gothic vibes. It’s a swirling vortex of darkness and just when it can’t get any more crushing, it does when an absolutely massive GOJIRA-esque riff comes it at the end of the track and absolutely blows the track right out the back of the skull. It’s frustrating only because there’s more spoken word here that just doesn’t work at all with what’s going on, but again, a minor nit-pick amidst one of the best songs on the record.

NIGHTFALL finish the record with Wolves In My Head, and once again plays with tempo as it moves from slow doom riffs to a galloping charge. The key to this track is the repeated hammer of the vocals that take hold in the last third of the track and relentlessly pound until the track grinds away to dust. It’s a strong way to end a record full of promise and missteps alike.

In a way, that description of the record seems apt, because ups and downs, struggle and triumph, are part of the story of NIGHTFALL and Karadimas‘ battle with depression. The band has emerged strong with At Night We Prey, and though it is a bit disjointed, there are some magnificent songs to be found within it. This would be a record to recommend someone looking to get started in the blackened death world, and though NIGHTFALL doesn’t get as much recognition as their Greek brothers in the genre, ROTTING CHRIST and SEPTICFLESH, this record is a strong output that will hopefully change some minds and turn some heads. Welcome back, boys. All the best in the years ahead.

Rating: 7/10

At Night We Prey is set for release March 5th via Season of Mist. 

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