Symphony of the Night

So far in this review challenge, I've mainly covered some obscure black metal demos that deserve more attention than they have. For this one, however, we're going to explore a power metal band from Sweden that has mainly been forgotten through time called Nightscape. This band released one demo in 2004, and then a year later, they released their only studio album titled "Symphony of the Night" before disbanding. While their demo was okay, it wasn't really anything special. With this album, however, their sound was refined enough to make a cool power metal album.

Beginning with the instruments, the album begins with the track "Haunted Hill", which starts off with some winds playing along some dark ambience before the rest of the instruments kick in. The guitar riffs are highly melodic, and they play some energized riffs that border on the neo-classical style. The drums are also just as powerful, as its drumming gives off a booming sound that only further enhances the grand atmosphere. The bass also provides a good foundation, and the keyboards sound amazing with its melodic tunes. All of this is combined to create a nightly atmosphere that sounds canorous and spacious, and it works fantastically. Some of my favorite tracks on here include "Higher than Life", "Across the Sky", and "The Serpent King", since those tracks in particular blend in some melodic riffing with some more heavier-sounding riffs, which also mixes great. Overall, the instrumentals are fantastic, and are improved upon from the demo.

As for the vocals, they are even better. Simon Åkesson does the vocals on here, and his voice sounds amazing. His singing is on-key, and he has a certain charm in his personality that makes him sound profound. A great example of this would be in the track "Merlin". This track is about fighting for justice, and his voice reflects on those themes well. With his melodic singing, he gives the songwriting here a more sincere and epic tone, and it makes the fighting the protagonist goes through sound cool. My only complaint here is that sometimes, Simon's singing can get a bit too cheesy, and his pride can get a bit excessive. However, those moments are rare, and they don't affect the overall songs too much. These vocals sound amazing throughout the album, and only further enhance the vast atmosphere of the tracks.

And then there's the lyrics. Joakim Wiklund wrote the lyrics on here, and while it does focus on fantasy stuff like every other power metal band has done, his songwriting stands out. Take the track "Rage Divine" for example, where this verse quotes:

Fear is all around the field
Will the gods be on our side
I can't believe they stole
Our talisman of life
What will happen to us now
We must fight and release our rage divine

This verse talks about how the gods refused to take the army's side and therefore, they have to fight on their own. When you read these lyrics, you feel that the narrator is shocked that the gods would betray them like that, and with him figuring out that they need to fight back with rage divine, it makes the character look good with his vengeful personality. Furthermore, the instruments also execute these lyrics further, as the more epic and harsh tone of the track only furthers the vengeful tone of the lyrics. The songwriting on here makes the characters sound human and well-written, and are only further enhanced by the prideful tracks.

With all of this combined, "Symphony of the Night" comes off as a strong record. The instrumentals are amazing, the vocals sound melodic and great, and the lyrics stand out with its descriptions and characters. The band sadly won't release anymore records under this name, and each person would go on to do others things, whether it be in music or in other realms. Regardless, this album sounds amazing, and I highly recommend it for anyone who's into power metal.