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Nocturnal Rites > Shadowland > Reviews
Nocturnal Rites - Shadowland

A solid slab of dark melodic power metal - 75%

lukretion, October 9th, 2023
Written based on this version: 2002, CD, Century Media Records

Nocturnal Rites’ fifth LP Shadowland is a clever album. It embraces many different directions and influences to conjure up a unique sound that makes the Swedish band instantly recognizable in a field that, by the late 90s / early 00s, was definitely becoming overcrowded. On the one hand, the Swedes seem to find inspiration in the German speed/power metal tradition of bands like Helloween and Gamma Ray. Tracks like the title-track, “Revelation” and “Vengeance” are built around fast tempos punctuated by relentless double-bass drumming and rapid-fire riffs, which create a massive tension in the song’s verses to then release it in the hyper-melodic, brighter choruses. Elsewhere, however, the influence of neoclassical metal and hard-rock is equally prominent. “Invincible”, “Underworld”, and “Faceless God” unfurl through moody mid-tempos, menacing riffs and baroque melodies that immediately bring to mind the work of Rainbow, Dio or Yngwie Malmsteen. In other tracks (“The Watcher”) there are hints of progressive metal, where the band seek more complex arrangements and flamboyant but really well-constructed solos in a way that reminded me of Evergrey or perhaps a less technical version of Symphony X.

You will recognize that the names dropped in the previous paragraph do not inhabit completely separated and incommunicado universes. Yet, their aesthetics are sufficiently distinct and distinctive to make it a challenge to blend them together without losing consistency and identity. Nocturnal Rites achieve this with ease. The shifts in tempos and melodic tones that occur across the album’s 10 songs feel natural and credible, and so does the contrast and alternation between dark and brighter moods that pervade the album. Vocalist Jonny Lindqvist plays a big role in this. His distinctive voice, powerful and gritty, yet greatly melodic and gifted with considerable range, ties the different styles and moods of the album together. He is equally at ease with dark, sinister melodic progressions as with more upbeat ones, providing the continuity needed to bridge them together. It is a bonus that the yin–yang approach in the songwriting and vocal delivery also fits nicely with the record’s theme of contrast between good and evil / day and night, as also illustrated on the album’s cover.

For all there is to like, I can't quite label this album as a masterpiece for three key reasons. First and foremost, the consistency in songwriting quality leaves something to be desired. While tracks like "Eyes of the Dead," "Invincible," "Underworld," "Faceless God," and "The Watcher" shine brilliantly, there's also a fair share of forgettable, filler-like material, especially in the album's first half. Second, despite the variation in styles and moods I mentioned earlier, the album fails to create a sense of development and progression throughout its tracklist. It appears that the guiding principle behind the tracklist was to alternate between fast and mid-tempo songs in sequence, which unfortunately leads to a sense of repetition over time. Lastly, the production quality falls somewhat short, particularly when compared to other records released around the same time in similar genres. The guitars are somewhat buried in the mix, overshadowed by the vocals and drums, resulting in a muddied and indistinct sound. The keyboards suffer a similar fate, which is regrettable since both these instruments typically provide the harmonic texture of the music. Unfortunately, the production relegates them to the background, creating a somewhat uninspiring, muffled wall-of-sound.

In summary, Shadowland is the classic album that I can play over and over in the course of a day, finding myself nodding pleasantly along with its main themes and melodies. However, each time I listen, I fall short of being fully immersed and truly captivated by it. There's nothing inherently bad here, although I might consider changing the production and mix if I had the opportunity. On the flip side, there's also nothing that reaches a truly transcendental level. It's simply good, solid dark melodic power metal, which sometimes is exactly what one needs to enjoy.

The zenith of power metal - 97%

BloodIronBeer, February 22nd, 2013

I try to avoid absolutes like "best ever" or using "greatest" or anything signifying the highest degree of anything. I know, I fail miserably, so I may as well embrace it. This might be the catchiest metal album and the greatest power metal album EVER FUCKING CREATED.

I would never dream of making such a claim without elaborating or backing it up, so I'm going to try to break down what makes this album so great.

The singer. Jonny Lindqvist is one of the premier vocalists in metal. His voice is powerful, piercing, full-ranged, and distinct with just the right touch of rasp. I don't know if these melodies would bear the power they do if not carried by such a stellar voice. I cannot stop myself from singing along to this album almost the whole way through.

The production. No wimpy, keyboard-saturated dung here. This production is super heavy, punchy, and crisp. Every instrument is spot on. The guitar tone is heavy as steel. Again, I hate to use absolutes, but I cannot think of a power metal album with better production. It really is perfect.

The lyrics. As much as I've been a power metal fan through the years, the lyrics of the genre aren't my favorite, but this album adds a good amount of darkness and even morbidity to the otherwise lighthearted and goofy take on lyrics.

From Underworld:

"Don't defy, the mind is the altar
Raped away, in pretends to be me
Hollow soul, the beacon is fading
Welcome to the sin divide
Desecrate, the memories will haunt me
I am God, the festering wound
Empty eyes, a stare that still beckons
I feel its will, it's tempting me"

I am God, the festering wound? Awesome line.

The consistency. I'm a huge fan of this band, but I have to admit most of their albums are front-loaded and the last half of the album is normally much weaker material. This album is an exception. The Watcher has a sick, almost death metal verse riff and Vengeance is probably the catchiest song on the album, which is saying a lot, and has a killer little solo. Birth of Chaos is a sweet speed metal track. No fading at the end of the album here. The slower songs like Underworld are incredibly memorable and rather than bore me like slow tracks normally do in power metal, I look forward to them.

The guitars. As far as guitar work goes, where this album and most power metal differ is... well, everywhere. The solos are at times more what you'd find in good vicious death metal; the riffs are flat out bone-crushing at times and they are tuned down a great deal lower than most power metal. The solo in The Watcher is jazz-inspired without sounding forced or phony. On the surface, I can see why people would say this is generic, but it most certainly isn't once you start to look at what's really going on.

Did I mention it's catchy? Impossibly catchy. The skill in the realm of melodic phrasing on this album is arguably unmatched in metal. Shadowland, Vengeance, and Revelation are three of the catchiest, most potent power metal tracks there are.

It's fast, heavy, tactful, and catchy power metal with great lyrics and flawless production. Power metal doesn't get any better than this.

Now THIS Is What Proper Power Metal Is - 92%

NecroWraith, July 19th, 2007

Huh... Nocturnal Rites... not a band that is highly recognized, but they do have a stable-enough fanbase. Without a doubt, this album is absolutely kickass, providing an extremely well-done mix of speed and power metal.

First of all... let me start off by saying this: Shadowland is probably one of THE most catchy albums I have ever heard. Oh God, how the hell do I get their songs outta my head?! Every song on here is memorable, the choruses amazing, the guitarwork perfect. There is a perfect blend of instrumentals, vocals, and riffs on every song. The songs aren't too long to bore you, and the overall mixing is amazing.

Lindqvist's voice has an amazing effect on this album. It is both dark and eerie, yet at the same time high-pitched and powerful. Everything a power metal fan should want. It fits in amazingly with the dark instruments in the background.

Another thing that really impressed me about this album is the openings. There is no building up before a song... it simply ERUPTS within the first second, rushing into killer melodies. [The opening that truly stood out for me - Vengeance].

The album could have been slightly longer, yet I'm not complaining. Better a shorter album filled with each amazing song rather than fillers. This is, in my opinion, Nocturnal Rites' best release to date, and deserves to be ranked right up there at the top with legends like Helloween and Blind Guardian.

-Marcin C.

Generic power metal doesn't get better than this - 90%

Empyreal, May 17th, 2007

There was a time when Nocturnal Rites didn't completely suck donkey shit? I actually had to listen to the title track off this album to remind me of that, sadly enough.

Nocturnal Rites on this album play an aurally pleasing combination of high-octane power metal mixed with some killer speed/thrash riffs at times, and some very fucking catchy choruses. Jonny Lindqvist is better here than he ever was, and the whole band sounds tight and united as hell. Nils Norberg cranks out some very memorable and heavy riffs for a power metal band, and the solos are soaring, majestic and technical, fitting the music perfectly. Owe Lingvall on drums has the snare turned way up, and I'm still not fully used to it, but his drumming is very good and his talent is obvious.

This was their second album with Lindqvist on vocals, and they were on the rise, getting better with each album. On Shadowland, they were tight and functional, pumping out catchy, hooky shit like "Eyes of the Dead", "Invincible", and "Never Die." The album isn't long, either, and all of the songs fly by you smoothly and quickly, while still leaving a lasting impression. The songs are short and don't bore you, and there are no pointless interludes or instrumentals. This album just fucking works on so many levels. It doesn't drag on, doesn't annoy you, rarely grows old, and is just an all around solid as hell album.

The lyrical themes here are not that complex or thought provoking, but they're very dark and extremely badass. The song titles should tell you that. And the music reflects that, being fairly dark and sinister for power metal. Sure, Lindqvist's vocals are too high pitched and power metallish to completely seal the 'evil' deal, but he sounds great anyway, and the music is pure class through and through. Lindqvist's vocals soar, the guitars crank out some great riffs, and the choruses are catchy. What else does a power metal fan want?

As for individual standouts...well, the title track is a surefire winner, with one of the best choruses I've ever heard from any metal band in any genre (and everyone else seems to share the same consensus, judging by the other reviews here). "Never Die" is a smoldering steel slice of ownage, with drums that pierce your soul as Lindqvist spits out some absolutely venemous vocal lines and the riffs crush your puny skull. "Invincible" is the closest thing we have to a ballad, and it rules, with some great midpaced guitar lines (giving me slight Middle Eastern vibes, but not completely), and a very 'wandering' feel to it, very hopeful. "Underworld" is another midpaced one, and the darkest song here. Very cool vocal lines; I love how this band writes them. "Birth of Chaos" is a cool little tune that oddly reminds me of 80s heavy metal ala Iron Maiden and Omen, or perhaps Cage and Dream Evil. Very nice stuff.

Negative points? I can't find many. This album isn't re-inventing the wheels of power metal, but it's extremely solid and is head and shoulders above most of the crap being thrown at us these days (some of which is buy this band itself!). Worthy of a purchase, highly recommended to fans of the genre.

The marriage of Power and Speed Metal. - 97%

hells_unicorn, October 10th, 2006

After a rather surprising reinvention in their previous effort “Afterlife”, Sweden’s pioneering power metal act returned with a more melodic release in “Shadowland”. The mystical imagery on the album underscores that NR has taken the course back towards the more melodic side of their past, although they have kept the brutal and heavy guitar sound that first surfaced on the last release. The result is a more powerful brand of power metal that stands out amongst the crowd of Helloween and Judas Priest influenced bands.

Jonny Lindkvist’s vocals have been cleaned up a bit on this release, making way for a series of highly memorable and riveting choruses. Where on songs like “The Sinners Cross” and “Wake Up Dead” on the Afterlife album he was grunting with a quasi-demonic character, on tracks such as “Never Die” and “Vengeance” off this album he is projecting the upper peak of his range to give us a triumphant sound that highlights why they call it power metal. In addition, all the odd effects on the vocals that were present before have been transferred completely to the instruments, and even there the amounts are much smaller than on Afterlife.

The guitar riffs on here have taken on a very different character as well. Although the dark and heavy sound of the 7 string guitar is as present as is was before, they have been utilized very differently here. While songs such as “Genetic Distortion Sequence” and “Temple of the Dead” had quintessential speed metal riffs that are almost impossible to hum, the melodic intro riffs of “The Watcher” and even the slow thudding “Invincible” are so catchy that you are forced to sing along with them. The chorus progressions of the chorus of the title track, as well as those of “Revelation” and “Eyes of the Dead” are complex enough that they resemble the work on “Tales of Mystery and Imagination”.

Nils Norberg’s solos have a character that is a bit closer to the pre-Afterlife style, but he is still keeping it short in the interests of keeping the focus on the powerful choruses that are the staples of this album. One exception on here is the solo to “Faceless God” which does go on a bit long and trades off a bit with the keyboards. Other solos such as that of the title track, “Vengeance”, and “Invincible” are similar to those found on Afterlife, but are a bit more climactic and loaded with plenty of brilliant shred licks.

The drum sound on here deserves special note as it is highly different from all the other albums this band has ever released. Although I am not normally a big fan of a snare tuned high, the way it is done here, and how it meshes with the deep guitar power chords and the ground-pounding bass gives the whole arrangement a strong sense of balance. Owe Lingvall is obviously in top form on this release, providing us with some rather brilliant drum work, particularly on the title track and “Underworld”.

Picking standout tracks on this album is extremely difficult, as every song on here has been perfectly tailored to give this album a uniform sense of continuity. On the basis of lyrics, I’d give high marks to the title track, “Invincible” and “The Watcher” for having some well placed words during their choruses. On overall musical strength, I’m torn between the quasi-epic title track and the slow and heavy rocker “Faceless God”. The former is a brilliant set of melodic twists and turns, and contains probably the most beautiful synthesizer interlude that Mattias Bernhardsson has ever performed. The latter is a dark yet highly melodic crusher that actually sounds remarkably similar to “The Sign” off the Afterlife album, which was my favorite track off that album.

In conclusion, this album is probably the most universally accessible album that NR has ever put out. It has the melody and speed that power metal fans love, it has the down tempo heavy tracks that fans of doom metal can get into, and that same thrash/speed metal guitar sound that made Afterlife a departure and yet such an innovation. It is a highly progressive approach to Power Metal, although it doesn’t contain all the long-winded and mixed meter songs that define Prog. Metal. In addition to the non-compromising lyrical approach of Lost Horizon, Sweden is pulling its weight to keep the Power Metal genre reputable and viable. This album comes highly recommended to fans of both the old and the new NR sound.

Godly Power Metal. - 98%

sliggdogg, May 6th, 2005

Power Metal. What does this term mean? For many in the metal world, this means high pitched vibrato vocals, a sort of disney-esque feel to it (gamma ray) and technical skills and songwriting skills of a somewhat higher nature to others.

Of course, if we were to ask a non-metalhead (and a literal minded person) what Power Metal is, they would probably say 'powerful metal.'

Nocturnal Rites really makes the second statement true with this album, Shadowland. This album puts the Power back in Power Metal, and makes it almost as dark as other styles of metal. See, I've always been a big fan of power metal, but bands like Edguy, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, always seem to be a little too happy and upbeat for me, especially being a huge fan of black metal. Nocturnal Rites is something for the typical anti-christian, fuck everything, I hate motherfuckers black metal loving metalhead.

That's not to say they sacrifice melody and the power vocals. Oh god no, these songs are still power metal, but just with an edge. Think Nevermore-Lite maybe, although because of Nocturnal Rites' amazing melodies and skills (that Nevermore honestly can't compare with) it almost seems that that is an injustice, because Nocturnal's sound comes out much heavier than anything Nevermore will produce (not saying I hate Nevermore, I just love Nocturnal Rites).

The guitarwork is as said, melodious yet heavy. The power vocals, although still power vocals, are MUCH LESS ''annoying'' than other bands, because the singer here has a rougher voice and uses it in an almost 'meaner' style. Like on tracks such as Vengeance, where the intro and verse are typical power metal, followed by a mean and gritty chorus. The real highlight here (for me) is Awakening, which basically wraps up everything this review has said in a nutshell.

\m/ (>.

now this is POWER metal - 88%

DamnRight, January 21st, 2003

Nocturnal Rites is a Swedish band that started as power metal, changed into pure speed metal, and with this album returns to the power metal genre, with some speed metal thrown in here and there. This labum is catchy as fuck, expecially the title track, "Shadowland". I had that chorus stuck in my head for about 2 weeks after I bought this album, and its still in my head from time to time. The vocals here are excellent, sung with real power and very melodic. This is the area where I think Nocturnal Rites real stands out from the other "power" metal bands. Lindkvist really has power in his voice, even though he may not be a great singer technically speaking. He doesnt sound too "flowery" like his balls are in a vice or something. The guitar playing is pretty good here too. The riffs are nice an d heavy sounding, and sometimes speedy. The solos are pretty damn good as well, and not overdone. There are keyboards, but they are used appropriately, and complement the guitars rather than overriding them. The drums aren't too bad, either.

Highlights of this album include the opener "Eyes of the Dead", the title track "Shadowland" (holy shit, the chorus!!), "Never Die", and "The Watcher". My only complaint is that the songs get kinda repetative after a while. However, there are no crappy ballads here, just kick ass metal. If your getting tired of flower metal and need some good power metal, pick this one up.