Search - Nocturnal Rites :: New World Messiah

Rehashing the same formula, with even less energy

dismaleuphony | Massachusetts, USA | 03/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, at the risk of being totally hated, I'm going to offer my thoughts on New World Messiah...



Personally, I gave this CD a 3, and if it wasn't for the band having an awesome singer and quality sound, I'd give it less. I'm a fan of their "Afterlife" CD a lot, and like most of "Shadowland" as well, but with this CD, I think their time has run out. What happened here?



Okay...it's not like a hate it, but once the first track is done with, I'm left yearning for something I can enjoy, but it's just not there. "New World Messiah" (the song) is a good opener. No problems but it's nothing we haven't heard before from this band. But, the comes "Against the World," and I'm left saying "damn, I hope there's something good coming soon, because I'm getting worried." Nocturnal Rites is really sounding sing-songy and relying too much on their patented background singing-infused chorus lines. The guitar solo is just boring...I may be no guitar virtuoso, but I think I could at least think of a more interesting melody here.



"Avalon" comes on and I'm like, "Okay, I don't like this song, but it's actually a good one." So, not too bad yet... But, for some reason "Avalon" makes me feel like listening to Edenbridge, because the chorus feels so bombastic I can't help but wishing I was belting out "The Undiscovered Land" atop of uptempo power metal instead of atmospheric metal. Nothing against Edenbridge, but Nocturnal Rites used to be power metal with a touch of tension, anger, and inspiration in the hooks...what's this? This just doesn't have the same excitement to it. It feels like the band's swansong more than a band in the middle of their peak as musicians.



From here though, I'm going to have a tough time liking much else..."Awakening" has an interesting chorus with it's melodic progression, but that irritating effects-ridden solo just kills it for me. "Egyptica" feels like the band needed a "concept" for a song, and just went all out with this Egypt flavor. Yeah, it's got that Egyptian sound, but the guitarwork really isn't memorable, just different from power metal. "Break Away" is a filler song that is tolerable but I felt like I'd heard it before even though the song was only 90 seconds through...



I know some people really dig power metal ballads... I am hard to win over with them, however. A ballad to me is not an excuse to dump good guitar riffing and replace it with more vocals. "The Flame Will Never Die" is just what this feels like to me. Totally formulaic, even for power metal. Not a good riff in the song, just chunky, repetitive background noise to give all the attention to the vocals.



"One Nation" is good I'd say, but still not a hit. "Nightmare" is just Nocturnal Rites playing with their own sound... you know what's going to happen before the guys play it, but at least there is some descent soloing going on here.



What happened to my sound on "Afterlife"? These guys were one of the bands that made me say "damn, power metal really kicks ass! what a band to listen to while driving!" "Shadowland" had that great song "Birth of Chaos" so I was still hopeful, but ... alas, I'm lost here. My only saving grace is that I haven't heard anything before 2000 from them, so at least I can check out "new" old material at some point and regain some respect for this band.



I'm sorry if this is offensive to anyone... Nocturnal Rites just seems like a band going through the motions, playing off their past successes and thinking that as long as they use the same sound and production, no one will notice... just my thoughts, though..."

What happened Nocturnal Rites??

Robert M. Hammill | Baltimore, MD | 03/08/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First off, let me say that both "Afterlife" and "Shadowland" blow the new CD "New World Messiah" away. I was eagerly anticipating the new release and now am very disappointed. The great thing about both "Afterlife" and "Shadowland" was the heavier sound and less on the keyboards. With "New World Messiah", the keyboards are back and the guitars are much less heavy. I, like the reviewer from Mass., kept looking for the killer song to come and one never came. Don't get me wrong, it's an okay CD. But the atmospheric sound gets repetitive and annoying quite quickly. The singer's voice is the best part of the CD. He sounds great.



Unfortunately, this record sounds over-polished and over-produced. I had liked the direction that the band had headed in after "The Sacred Talisman". I hope they go back and record something more agressive and heavy on the next record. There were no "fast-forward" tracks on "Afterlife" or "Shadowland" but I found myself skipping through most of "New World Messiah".



Best songs are probably "New World Messiah", "Against The World" and "Awakening". The rest is mostly crap unfortunately."

Another amazing work!

N. Torpey | Philadelphia, PA | 12/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nocturnal Rites, both old and new, produces quality work and this album is no exception. It has a progressive tone, getting darker as it goes on. All the songs are well done, and original, none of the same old stuff repeated through the album. A great listen!



My one complaint, like many other Power/Fantasy metal albums: It's too short! =) Music this good shouldn't stop!"