Nite: When Nite Draws In

When NITE draws in. “We’re going for your throat.” With their third album, Cult Of The Serpent Sun, now out in the wild. Blackened heavy metal quartet NITE are looking to bring their attacking sound to a wider audience. 2023s Voices Of A Kronian Moon received widespread acclaim and helped to establish them a signature sound. A powerful blend of traditional heavy metal sound with harmonised guitar melodies and galloping riffs. The twist is the addition of blackened, aggressive vocals.

It’s a heady mix and the San Franciscan four-piece execute it with precision. The new album builds on this excellent foundation, yet there is a refinement, the attack is still equally as bellicose as the preceding releases, yet it hits with a perceived greater intensity. The guitars are crisper and the rhythms tighter while the vocals remain just as guttural. We caught up with guitarist Scott Hoffman and bassist Avinash Mittur to discuss the new dawn for NITE.

“With this album we wanted to crank up the intensity a little bit.” This is Scott’s outlook when discussing how there is an aspect that NITE have upped the ante from their previous record. Going on to say, “from the off it’s more hard-hitting and more riffy.” Nodding in agreement and seamlessly taking that train of thought further, Avinash continues. “We spend a lot of time talking about the direction of our records, NITE’s already a guitar forward band. We wanted to push them even further to the front. More solos, more duelling action and a little more aggression. We’re going for your throat.” For those that have already heard Cult Of The Serpent Sun, this dialled in aggression and feeling of more forthright guitar led offensive will be immediately apparent.

The combination of traditional heavy metal and blackened extreme aspects illustrated by the vocals of frontman Van Labrakis. While not necessarily unique, is executed with such precision that it enables NITE to truly stand out. While speaking on this, Avinash explains, “Van was taking a lot of inspiration from the music he was listening to. Bands like TRIBULATION and CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT as well as traditional metal like IRON MAIDEN. So, there was the soaring guitar stuff, but he found the best way to express his vocals was the extreme angle.” 

The fact that the inspirations have been amalgamated in such a natural way is echoed in the music. Scott is keen to continue this message. “One of the mission statements is taking what we love. 80s heavy metal and modernise it a little bit. But those raspy blackened vocals are a way to ground if further in the modern moment.” This is certainly true on all of NITE’s material but especially on their latest offering. The melodic and galloping guitar leads are reminiscent of the 80s heavy metal heyday. The musicians are clearly enjoying putting everything into the delivery. Yet the melodic vocal lines are eschewed for the extreme guttural approach and this heightens the dark, gothic atmosphere that brings their vein of metal back up to date. They’re not simply rehashing genre staples; NITE are surging to push a new approach.

Heavy metal thrives on the thematic. It doesn’t have to be multi layered concept albums, but some of the finest bands draw on particular themes to either help define their identity or lend more weight to particular albums. NITE have often built on horror and the occult in their visual representation and it permeates all of their output. “The last album was maybe a little more escapist in its atmosphere.” This is how Scott looks at Voices of A Kronian Moon. Given that this record was written during COVID, this escapist fantasy is not too hard to read into. While Cult Of The Serpent Sun is still allegorical and occult, Scott continues, “some key touchstones were the spectre of war and a darker overall vibe.” Avinash chimes in with an animated grin; “we found community in the metal scene during touring, which, despite all the darkness of the themes, brought in some real-world positivity. This is also true of songs like The Mystic, lyrics touching on the birth of Van’s daughter. So, there is a scary surface, but underneath there is a spirit of inclusivity and wonderful things.”

With three albums in, NITE have now seemingly got their foundations set and are ready to start their next stage of growth. Presenting a unity in their creativity as well as their direction. Avi lays it out, there’s clearly a palpable excitement within NITE for what can come next. “We’ve all figured out our roles in the band. We can take ownership and contribute openly and be heard.” Going on to say about the fun that they’re having “we want to rock out and get in faces. I’ve been in bands where it was frowned upon. At a practice I was a little reserved before Van was encouraging me to let lose a bit more and before long Scott and me were running around.”

To summarise, Scott succinctly puts it that “we’re 80s influenced, guitars and song driven with a darker edge with a modern spin.” To which Avinash emphatically agrees, “we’re a 2025 metal band. We’re not death metal, we’re not gonna be a black metal band.” With a wide grin, “a traditional heavy metal band with vocals that are scarier than Bruce Dickinson.”

Cult Of The Serpent Sun is out now via Season Of Mist.

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