Night Crowned -Tales

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Sweden’s blackened death metal super group Night Crowned unveils their third studio album “Tales” out via Noble Demon Records on November 10th, 2023. The band comprises of former and current members from prominent acts such as Dark Funeral, and Cipher System, and while pushing the craft to the apex of melodic black metal, Night Crowned manages to captivate us with their blazing melodies and guitar hooks on their newest craft.

From the opening song “De Namnlösa” the aggressive insertions of the tremolos picked-riffs and blast beats fit together perfectly with the furious snarls of K.Romlin, however, one can easily find the similarities between the band and the Swedish melodic black metal act Misteltein. The cold gothic atmosphere of the dazzling synth adds a whole melodic sound to the exhilarating tempo. The composition is beautifully crafted by heavy guitar barrages to make sure the songwriting exceeds many generic bands. Although the take on black metal music suggests a modern polished sound production, guitarist/keyboardist H.Liljesand and guitarist and vocalist J.Eskilsson implement the band’s trademark style on the following track “She Comes At Night”.

The ferocious aspect of the album is very similar to Dark Funeral and could have resembled the elements of the vocals. But what the band offers on this track is the fusion of the catchy lead guitars and the use of the effective synth. Speaking of the intensity of the music and the guest appearance of the female vocalist Therése Thomsson (Disdained and Sadauk) the cinematic folk passage unfolds into the sinister snarls. Soaring lead guitars gradually provide some of the catchiest hooks which reminds me of Dimmu Borgir, the tremolo-picked riffs and the superb drumming of J. Jaloma are destructive and ridiculously fast.

Nattramn” combines utter vehemence and uncompromising drumming, covering all the aspects of high velocity tempo. From the mid-paced aggression to the riffing dynamics and the outstanding bass guitar of P. Eldor Pettersson, the band focuses on a relentless pace by creating a space for the haunting synth to invade the atmosphere. “Tales” finds the balance of providing the traditional Scandinavian quality Night Crowned offers plenty of catchy guitar solos and hooks on a number of songs. The ferociousness of the drumming and the incredible intensity achieve a great deal of catchiness, and the clean vocals on the track “Loviatar” provide a beautiful melody that juxtaposes the bombastic guitar riffs.

The hammering thunder of the Gods ignites the blaze of the rhythm guitars and maintains the scathing melodies of the dual guitars and the evil atmosphere that exposes the quality of the synth. “Flickan Som Försvann” shows the ability to deliver clean vocal hooks to the infectious tremolos, although the album displays tons of melodic lead guitars, solos, and intermittent folk music. However, I find that the overuse of clean vocals and folk elements undermines the quality of the song.

Strandvaskarens hymn” has similar folk elements to the previous song but the furious drums and the evil snarls offer a catchy mix to the tremolo-picked riffs, the songs shift for many tempo changes, and musically throughout the album the synth and the piano passages provide plenty of hooks. However, despite the songwriting and the compositional structure of the music, Night Crowned achieves a certain level of technicality and songs like “Lupus Luna” featuring the talented singer Therése Thomsson set the mood for a wonderful intonation vocals.

Rhythm guitars and the propelling tone of the blast beats bring powerful dynamics along with the traditional black metal vocals and push the song into more melodic tremolo riffs. The sinister atmosphere and machine gun fill explode into a loud reverb, and with the Nordic haunting melodies you should expect nothing but catchy hooks. The closing track “Old Tales” integrates a haunting symphonic intro with the profuse use of orchestral embellishment, somehow exploring the mid-pacing strengths of the band. Among the newest Scandinavian acts such as Avslut, Wormlight, and others, Night Crowned proves to be a reckoning force. Therefore Swedish super group makes themselves relevant to symphonic bands such as Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, and the third album “Tales” conveys a refreshing modern sound through the haunting rhythm, blazing tremolos, blasting force and wicked snarling growls.

REVIEW SCORE

  • Music / Songwriting 8/10
  • Vocals / Lyrics 8/10
  • Mix / Production 9/10
  • Artwork & Packaging 9/10
  • Originality 8/10
8.4

Although I prefer the 2021 album ‘Hädanfärd’ to the newest one, ‘Tales’ is packed with aggression and relentless drumming work, this is simply a high-quality extreme metal album!

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