Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Nocturnal Rites' sophomore album encapsulates much of the trends that were part of the Euro power metal scene's golden past, and as a result, the album is very unique among all the contemporaneous releases. That means that you would not expect the crappy watered-down flower metal sound, which means that your ears would not suffer the diluted riffs repeating the "Freewheel Burning" intro riff and the repetitive double bass drumming. Instead, the band offers a very solid guitar playing and a drumming that overtop the expectations of the most demanding listeners. Further, Fredik Mannberg as a lead guitarist, provides incredible guitar solos with the typical neoclassical notes that Yngwie Malmsteen may have exploited. Zackrisson's vocals bring in a US power metal touch, as his nasal style can be found in other acts, such as, Manilla Road, Medieval Steel, among others. Unfortunately, his vocals are widely underrated, but it is worth it to save this discussion for those who understand what the US power metal is about.

The equation is not hard to decipher here. The ingredients above are pretty much a result of the influence the album received from Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, but to a greater extent, Helloween seemingly inspired the most melodic passages of this release. Relevant highlights include the speed metal juggernauts "Burn in Hell" and "Pentagram", as well as the opening track. All these numbers are a guarantee of complex riffs, an incredible drumming and, most importantly, killing guitar solos. "Dark Secret" is also an interesting number, especially on how it transitions from interesting mid-paced passages to a faster chorus. In conclussion, this album is a jewel seemingly lost in time, but when it is in the hands of experienced and wise listeners, it shows its real value.

This review can also be read here https://antichristmagazine.com/review-nocturnal-rites-tales-of-mystery-and-imagination-toys-factory/

Two years after a good but generic debut Nocturnal Rites is back with a very similar album. The main difference that you will find here is the slightly heavier vibe of the album, but it's still the same low-endish and melodic tone of before just with added distortion.

Most songs are pretty similar: lots of single note riffage, little to zero keyboards, mid-to-fast tempo and a very good sense of melody. The progress I made reference in the title is because the band slightly deviates from the generic sound in some moments in this album, mainly at 2.30 in “The curse”, but this is still pretty generic, mainly the intro to "Lost in Time". It rules, but it reminds me a lot of "Die with your Boots on" in melody construction and the gallop rhythm entering after a few bars.

Note that this is still very very catchy but lacks a certain charm that was present in “In a time of blood and fire” which I can't describe properly. There isn't a song here with the magic of “Lay of Ennui”, maybe the opener “Ring of Steel” comes close.

The singing is quite nasal but is not annoying chill, the bass just provides a solid foundation without outstanding and the drums use a lot the double bass pattern but not 100% of the time.

No masterpiece, but still an extremely solid release. Recommended to fans of power, nwobhm and melodic metal in general.

1997 was a glorious year for metal, quite possibly the most important year for the genre since 1986. After being pretty much considered dead for half a decade, the metal world witnessed the sudden uprising of a lot of new bands (modern power metal pioneers such as Hammerfall, Edguy, Rhapsody and Nightwish all released their debuts in 1997) devoted to keeping the old flame alive as well as adding new elements to the old formulas. Hammerfall’s debut “Glory to the Brave” is generally considered the most important album in the realization of the former, but Nocturnal Rites’ second album “Tales of Mystery and Imagination” is in my opinion a better album and every bit as shamelessly old school sounding.

The incredible old school feeling is indeed the most striking aspect of “Tales of Mystery and Imagination”. This album could easily have been released during the speed/proto-power metal craze of the late 80s/early 90s without sounding out of place. Helloween’s “Keeper of the Seven Keys” albums are obviously a huge influence on these guys, but Iron Maiden is of equal importance. The Maiden influence is most noticeable in the keyboard work of Mattias Bernhardsson (admospheric in the vein of Maiden’s “Seventh Son”) and the lead guitar work of Nils Norberg, a criminally underrated lead guitarist who probably starts every day by bowing down low before the altar of Adrian Smith. In fact, the album takes influences from pretty much all of the 80’s heavy metal giants and comes up with a result that, while it’s 0% original, doesn’t come of as a direct copycat of any other band either.

The guitar work on this album favours melody over heaviness a bit too much to be considered a pure heavy metal album, and it’s not fast enough (except a few songs) to be considered speed metal. The guitar tone is pure 80’s metal, melodic and slightly polished but still a bit edgy. The first thought that struck me was that is sounded like more melodic version of the guitar tone used on Scanner’s classic “Hypertrace”, an album released almost 10 years before “Tales of Mystery and Imagination”! Vocalist Anders Zackrisson has a high-pitched and quite nasal voice, he’s technically a rather mediocre vocalist and really strains himself to reach some of the higher notes , but after a few spins you’ll realize that he’s perfect for this album. Johnny Lindqvist is the superior vocalist but he could never have replaced Zackrisson on this album. Finally, the lyrics deal with topics such as warriors, monsters and evil, which was the standard lyrical fare for power metal before the modern bands made themes such as Tolkien-influenced fantasy and even more realistic themes more popular. Essentially this album sounds like the bastard son that Helloween and Iron Maiden gave birth to in 1990 and threw into a time machine set to 1997.

There are 12 songs on this album. No intro (although the lovely tribute to Pachelbel’s Canon in the beginning of “Ring of Steel” works well as one), no outro, no ballads, just rock solid mid-paced to fast power metal from start to finish. The songwriting is incredibly consistent, as this is probably the only NR album I’ve heard so far that is completely devoid of filler. Every song has at least a few memorable parts. There are, however, two songs that tower a bit above the rest. The first one is the opener “Ring of Steel”, which is the longest song on the album, clocking in at almost seven minutes. Except for having 5 minutes of killer power metal with a catchy chorus and driving verse riffs, it also has a intro and outro riff that is probably the best riff ever written by the band. Without a doubt one of the most melodic riffs ever laid down on a metal album by 1997 (remember this was before the big “flower metal” explosion of the late 90’s). The opening tribute to Johann Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” (a stunning piece of music) sounds so incredibly nostalgic it will probably bring a tear to the eye of those who lived to witness the golden age of metal that was the 80’s.
The second pick for best song on the album is the epic “Warrior’s Return”. When Zackrisson starts singing accompanied by that driving riff you know directly that the song is sooner or later going to explode into something big, and it does! The last minute, a literal orgy of ripping solos and high pitched leads/vocal harmonies, is the highlight of the album and quite possibly the most glorious moment of the band’s entire career.

I really don’t have anything negative to say about “Tales of Mystery and Imagination”. One more killer song comparable to “Ring of Steel” and “Warriors’s Return” would have been enough to justify a masterpiece score (90+) for this album. Still, this is a no-brainer for fans of heavy and power metal. It contains everything we love about our genre in healthy doses. The album was re-released two years ago together with their debut “In a Time of Blood and Fire”, which is as good a starting point as you can find if you want to get into this band. My highest recommendation.

After a rather impressive musical debut dubbed "In a Time of Blood and Fire", that unfortunately had a hard time getting exposure due to a half-hearted promotional effort by their former label, Nocturnal Rites hit the studio again with even higher hopes. Although there were some flaws in the debut, a template of greatness had been realized and is further developed on this release.

A rather sizable change occurred between the last album and this one, and that is the addition of master guitarist Nils Norberg. With the exception of Yngwie Malmsteen, Roland Grapow, and Adrian Smith this guy is probably my favorite lead guitarist still on the metal scene. His solos are loaded with plenty of sweeps and flash, but are a bit more idiomatic and musically varied than that of most shredders. At times I hear influences from Malmsteen, Vai, Friedman, and several other players.

In addition to the more technically and musically amazing guitar work, we see a much more prominent set of keyboard lines. It would not be until the next studio release that Mattias Bernhardsson would be added as a permanent member of the band, but already on this release his role is equally as prominent as the other 5. Stand out keyboard parts can be found on "Ring of Steel", "Warrior's Return" and "Test of Time".

The overall songwriting here is nothing short of stellar, on every level. There was a good amount of variety on the debut, but here the songs are so varied that if I were to go on the music alone and ignore the vocals, this would sound like 4 or 5 different bands. Faster tracks like "End of the World", "Pentagram" and "Burn in Hell" sound very similar to early Yngwie cookers, but with a more balanced relationship among the instrumentalists. Others that are almost equally as fast such as "The Curse", "Dark Secret" and "Lost in Time" sound more like Ram it Down era Judas Priest.

Many of the slower tracks such as "Warrior's Return" and "Test of Time" are highly similar to early NWOBHM material, although the prominent keyboard parts give it a slight tinge towards "Seventh Son" era Iron Maiden. "Eye of the Demon" and "The Vision" have a very mystical feeling to them, combined with a very atmospheric keyboard accompaniment that almost makes it similar to early Helloween/early Queensryche.

"Change the World" is highly light sounding, almost to the point of being punk rockish, and has a driving melody that will stick in your head. The organ part gives it a slight Deep Purple sound as well. And the opening and memorable anthem "Ring of Steel" is probably the greatest song ever put out in the Zachrisson era of NR. The harpsichord and orchestra line at the beginning is a rather charming hommage to Pachabel's Canon.

Every song on here is amazing and you will find yourself forgetting that there even is such a thing as a skip button while listening to it. However, some songs are so amazing that they tower above even the other classics on here. These highlights include "Ring of Steel", "Test of Time", "Pentagram" and "End of the World".

In conclusion, this album coincided with a flurry of amazing releases, such as the debut of Iron Savior and Gamma Ray's "Somewhere Out in Space". In the same way that NR's debut aided Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian in re-awakening the sleeping giant of power metal, this album functions as a testament to the glorious triumph of that giant over the rotting corpses that called themselves metal bands in the early 90s. Essential listening for fans of NWOBHM, Power Metal, and also to fans of shred.

This is their most epic album, and it totally fucking works on all levels. It's great power metal, in the vein of Keeper I and II but with more of an epic and atmospheric touch, but without any of the silly tricks (double-bass to no end, riding the same recycled 'Ride the Sky' riff buried in the mix for six songs, etc etc) of the flower metal genre. A high-quality album.

The best song on here is the second song, but the opener, "The Ring of Steel" is no slouch either. Somewhat drawn out choruses with great riffage underneath, in the typical older Nocturnal Rites style are evident here. Very glorious and epic, and you will be singing along as you ride into battle. Right. Next, "Dark Secret" - this is awesome just for the chorus. "Passing away... through the eye of the storm!!" The album won't overwhelm you with brutal thrashing or anything, but it works very well, with greatly evident atmosphere.

The rest is very similar to these two - at times becoming a bit faster, as on "Burn In Hell", which is obligatory speed metal. "Change the World" and "Eye of the Demon" are also quite nice.

Overall, this album works very nicely where a lot of others do not - sometimes it's comparable to Blind Guardian's "Imaginations from the Other Side" and not just in title, but generally in atmosphere and riff usage, as well as overall song construction. Very much recommended.