ALBUM REVIEW: Of Sorcery And Darkness – Nocturna

If you had a dollar for every symphonic metal band named NOCTURNA that had two female vocalists, you’d have two dollars. While strikingly weird that it has indeed happened twice, 2022 introduced the NOCTURNA as seen here as a solid, albeit unorginal take on the formula that early-era NIGHTWISH brought into being – a huge symphonic metal sundae with a big gothic swirl right through the middle. The dual pronged vocal attack NOCTURNA bring to the table made their debut Daughters Of The Night a fun take on the format without being earth-shatteringly innovative, so where to go from there felt like a very pertinent question.

Of Sorcery And Darkness certainly slashes the amount of time taken to warm to the theme. The secret-but-not-so-secret identity of FROZEN CROWN’s Federico Mondelli left amounts of power metal between trace and cartload in Daughters Of The Night and here it feels like less of a battle between it and the symphonic side for supremacy. Of Sorcery And Darkness rips into action in a flurry of double kicks and shrieking shredding; the operatic vocals in opening track Burn The Witch feel more like a counterbalance to stop it turning into a full on HELLOWEEN song than being symphonic for the sake of consistency. There’s a certain irony in that last statement, though. Namely, this feels like a NOCTURNA record this time around, rather than a tribute to its inspirations.

The starry-eyed motivations still aren’t subtle, mind. Noctis Avem could have been lifted directly from 2000’s Wishmaster, which is high praise when you stop to think about it. But the aforementioned renewed focus on pure power metal brings about the version of the band that were trying to escape on the last album. The organisation of the elements contributes a large chunk of change, too; the dual-vocal roles are more prominent on some tracks – the wildly operatic Midnight Sun positively floats through waves of melodic gossamer, but take a back seat to the big, riff-powered chanting of the whirlwind Strangers. It’s not only a more finely balanced affair, but one that is clearly using all of the tools in the box this time. It’s a huge improvement in being a more pinned down “sound”, which in turn means less time trying to find comparisons and more spent enjoying what NOCTURNA actually have to offer.

That offer is both furiously hooky and soaring in equal measure. Of Sorcery And Darkness takes the broad-appeal blueprints of their debut and rebuilds it to a much more finely tuned specification. Crafting their own grandiose identity while their influences are still worn proud and clear on billowy sleeves for all to see isn’t going to do much to dispel any claims of copycat-ism, granted. But this feels very much like a leaping off point for NOCTURNA, a “watch this space” that makes it clear their potential is certainly not limited to doing what other bands did best. On this evidence, there’s plenty to watch for.

Rating: 8/10

Of Sorcery And Darkness is out now via Scarlet Records.

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