Athenian Echoes

Greece was the cradle of European culture and so it is only logical that these dudes also have to contribute to the metallic music. Back in 1995, Nightfall did this with “Athenian Echoes”. The patriotic title and artwork are like an omen for the musical content, because Nightfall follow a pretty Greek approach. We get some occult mysticism, melodies that seem to be the soundtrack for a dark ritual and a sometimes confusing mix of hammering parts and slow-moving sections. I am sure that the individuality of main man Efthimis Karamidas is reflected in the single tracks. The only paradox is that while he's certainly a cool guy, the music still leaves a lot of room for improvement.

For instance, the murmured incantation called “The Vineyard” may have its very special charm, but this mainly dragging piece could have been used as a more or less solid closer. On the fourth position, it does not fit and hurts the flow of the album. But Efthimis had more somewhat quirky ideas. “Aye Azure” is a stormy opener that does not lack vehemence or pressure, but I do not understand the hysterical keyboard insertions. They characterize this song, they tear it almost apart and push the guitars and drums into the background. It’s still a good opener, but not a flawless one.

As indicated, the production is not perfectly balanced, but generally speaking, it does not turn out to be a disturbing factor. It is good to see that the mix does not become a blurred mishmash when Nightfall celebrate their most intensive parts. Moreover, whenever the keyboards remain silent, the guitars deliver pretty exciting lines that cannot be assigned to a specific genre. The musicians are border crosses. From this follows that they mix dark or – in the widest sense – black metal, folkloric sounds, gothic and dreamy sequences, for example at the beginning of “I’m a Daemond”. The album wants to live from the loud-quiet changes, but at times this approach seems quite inappropriate. Not all individual parts of the tracks fit well together (and the synthetic beginning of the actually good “My Red, Red Moon” is a pain in the ass).

However, Nightfall’s work leaves its own scent. Maybe for some of you it is too sweetish, but I do not see a general lack of powerful metal parts. Of course, you do not get songs that keep hammering from the beginning to the end, but there are a lot of other bands that can satisfy your needs in this regard. I admit that I did not buy further Nightfall albums, but this is not to say that I do not like “Athenian Echoes”. In my opinion, it’s a release for special hours – and it avoids obvious fillers. All songs are ambitiously arranged and fans of melodic metal with a dark touch, especially supporters of Rotting Christ, can give this work a chance.

Nightfall pulled out all the stops for their third full-length effort in 1995, Athenian Echoes, discovering the precise median between the black, death, Gothic and doom genres in which they had dabbled for the years prior. This exhibits more range than perhaps any other album in their career, and what's better: the band had actually gotten a great production this time, effortlessly trumping Macabre Sunsets. Though it's not the easiest to categorize, this is perhaps my favorite Nightfall, with a number of strong tracks near the middle of the playlist that stand as practiced monuments to that formative fusion of genres that was evident in the mid 90s, when bands were experimenting with clashes of character, keyboards, multiple vocals and so forth.

First, the lead sequences on the album are breathtaking, majestic and exciting, especially in the tunes "Armada" or "Iris (And the Burning Aureole"). The lyrics have a decidely Gothic bent to their evoked imagery, but they're well written and celebrate the band's Greek heritage with laments to mythological characters. Most importantly, though, is the level of variation being put into each tune. Even the rather straightforward, melodic black charger "Aye Azure" molds itself into some pomp and circumstance with the orchestral synth strikes and serpentine dynamics of the guitar notation. But more interesting are "Ishtar (Celebrate Your Beauty)", with its epic, soaring riffs and sparser tribal bridge, or the extensive, Gothic elegy "Monuments of its Own Magnificence", which uses a cleaner but tormented doom vocal somewhere between Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost and Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost. The band even throw in some electronic tinges in "My Red, Red Moon (Emma O)", a foreshadowing of several later albums, and if you're looking for that fashionable 'Greek' spin, you get your sampled flute interludes and so forth, as in the intro to "The Vineyard".

There are a few moments among the 48+ which showcase a less interesting, predictable side to writing, in particular the guitars. But this is not news: both Parade Into Centuries and Macabre Sunsets also suffered from some filler, some need for further gestation. That said, though, the refinements are undeniable here, and its the last album of the band's initial creative cycle, before plunging off the deep end in a crass attempt to mold themselves into the European Gothic metal mainstream via Lesbian Show, Diva Futura, and so forth. If you're looking for a place to start exploring these 20 year addicts, Athenian Echoes is that place, whether you're coming from the angle of atmospheric death metal ala Septic Flesh or you're interested in Gothic/doom hybrids as wide as Paradise Lost and early Theater of Tragedy.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

"...I realized that what the wings are for the sky, the horns are for the earth..."


The "Army of Chosen Ones" have done it again with their third full-length lp since their inception in '91, all of which have been on the French Holy Records. While their previous mini-lp, Eons Aura, isn't exactly a precursor to the sound featured here, Athenian Echoes sees the band hammer into black metal speeds ala Darkthrone and Emperor without the corpse-painted lyrical beliefs, but more importantly Nightfall award these eight tracks with remarkable colliding styles, unorthodox blending of structures, tingling atmosphere, driving heaviness and rage of battle - point in fact, they were dubbed 'war metal' at the time as much as you agree or disagree.

Lead in by funeral-toned keys and piano, "Aye Azure" explodes into a practical warcry with flying, yet clear velocity, the bellowing of Efthimus Karadimas and keys that flash in abruptly like lightning, adding an epic quality to the fray. The intensity suddenly subsides, intercepted by the unexpected melody-maker "Armada" that can throw a listener off, then blasts into jarring speed again. These coalitions of melody and mayhem intertwine more times memorable, all the while tapping into a profusion of styles from candlelight piano pieces ("I'm a Daemond") to Arabic/Egyptian chant music (beginning of "Ishtar") and finally Dracula-esque organs fronting an odd disco beat (start of "My Red, My Moon"). Wrapping sonic speeds with harmony are "The Vineyard" and "Iris (And the Burning Aureole)" with illustrations of Amorphis-like organ play.

Nightfall bring forth a prime display of diapason and power united, being able to go to the mat with pure metal or an ethnic blending of styles like few others. War isn't all steamroll forward and destroy - there is time to interrogate the captured, bask in the sun of accomplishment, celebrate victories and toast the fallen.