No time to lose for Nite.
Fresh from the release of their first two albums and their signing to Season of Mist, Van Labrakis (guitar/vocals), Scott Hoffman (guitar, Dawnbringer), Patrick Crawford (drums, Serpents of Dawn) and Avinash Mittur (bass, Wretched Stench) present Cult of the Serpent Sun, their third studio album.
We start with the heady harmonics of the eponymous Cult of the Serpent Sun, which join a rather occult but catchy rhythmic pattern and dark cavernous vocals. Although I’m used to this interesting mix, some passages will make your hair stand on end thanks to the heavy roots, but the band picks up the pace with Skull whose energetic Old School tones will undoubtedly motivate the crowds before the band can place their sharp leads. The track remains solid even when it slows down a little, then we move on to the mysterious tones of Crow (Fear the Night), which immediately become more murky and eerie than on the previous two, and set the tone for the whole track. Although rather heavy, it lets the harmonics bring a certain vitality, unlike The Mystic, which anchors itself between melancholy and quietude, offering a moment’s respite while letting the musicians show us that appeasement is also part of their range of skills. This is followed by The Last Blade, which picks up the pace while retaining its melodic approach, including on the break that stalls the charge before its final which leads into Carry On, where the musicians reveal ever more catchy patterns. The vocals remain misty, providing a contrast that harmonizes with the oppression of the following track, Tarmut, where the rhythm is more jerky or dissonant at times, but the band plays with hypnotic tones before letting Winds of Sokar make us want to shake our skulls in unison with their riffs to close the album.
Although the mix isn’t innovative, Nite‘s touch is definitely one of the catchiest to be played between Heavy and Black Metal! Cult of the Serpent Sun may sound a little short, but its richness and quality will win you over!
90/100