The First Snowfall

Blizzard black metal with a mystical aura, lovely. I covered the second Night Conquers Day record, entitled ‘Rebellion Is The Art Of Survival’ some time ago, around the time that I actually discovered the American band, but have never gotten round to completing my review of their debut. Unfortunately, the career of this lavish black metal band didn’t last too long. Formed in 1995, it wasn’t until 1998 that a debut was recorded and released, and then a follow up was issued a mere year later, but after that, the band split-up and are still defunct to this day with no obvious signs of a reunion, which is a shame. Night Conquers Day are perhaps a little predictable and typical of the era that the material was released in, but never the less, this American outfit stands out with their inspired use of keyboards.

I refer to this record as “blizzard black metal” because it encompasses that traditional feel, to some extent, but using heavy percussion and tremolo based riffs, which draw out that snowstorm. The aptly named ‘The First Snowfall’ isn’t as good as the follow up, but contains some glorious moments of inspiration as the keyboards dominate proceedings and several picturesque landscapes are explored by the beauty of the soundscapes. Although the record consists of nine songs, over half span out over the ten minute mark. In order to keep the attention of the listener, Night Conquers Day must rely heavily on interesting song writing, which they have, and a viable source of accessible instrumentation which takes note of different areas and allows them to take control. For most Night Conquers Day fans, the best aspect of the instrumentation is in the keyboards, provided by the mysterious Raistlyn and presumably Mikael Bayusik, who had to fill in for the aforementioned musician due to his erratic behaviour which was noted on the bands official website, “Raistlyn did some session keyboards on "The First Snowfall" album, most notably was the great Intro that he recorded for that debut CD. He mysteriously disappeared during our debut CD recording sessions and has not been seen since. Once in a great while he will call (randomly) and play some amazing keyboard piece over the phone for me, but never say who it is. He then just hangs up. " Odd. Despite these antics, it’s in the keyboards that most of the love for this record will come from, despite the record having several other aspects that delight. Even the lyrics are quite good, focusing on darkness, individuality and winter.

“Isolated affection to those who hold the keys
That open the steel-bolted doors within me
Behind the oaken shell lies a vast darkness
Embrace me and ye shall embrace the darkness
She's my only true love...
Mortal love is sadness
Happiness is grief...bliss is melancholy”

The keyboards are the basis for much of the instrumentation, as well as the guitars, which is probably expected. Songs like the immense ‘Banished From My Eyes’ are a fine example of how Night Conquers Day manage to successfully use the keyboards as the foundations of the soundscapes and how the other elements, particularly the guitars which are actually experimental on this record, and the unique vocals which don’t always take up the rasping form which we’ve all become accustomed to. The vocals, as stated, come in different forms. From rasps, which suit the blizzard nature of the guitars and the dense production, to spoken word and even high pitched screams, which are soft in their approach, despite not sounding it from this description. The guitars are audible, despite being distorted. Every chord is accessible to the listener, who is in awe of much of the material presented for us here, even on the instrumental songs, which use acoustics as well to heighten the emotional mood of the atmospherics, which entwine themselves around the emotions of the listener. The bass works mostly alongside the percussion, which takes it’s aggression out on the listener through controlled and varied use of double bass blast beats. The bass is audible, but can sometimes find itself overpowered by stronger and more prominent elements of the instrumentation, like the guitars and the keyboards, which provide sweet soundscapes of subtlety. Songs like ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ aptly display this, with it’s unique approach to keyboards, which are particularly fantastic on this song, and catchy instrumentation provided by the other elements, even the vocals, which act as another instrument by providing melody and atmosphere. Overall, though this record doesn’t match the mystical prowess of the second record, this is a very good effort from a band that deserves more recognition.