An entire album based upon that place between time and space
where dreams and death collide in a crash of fantastical imagery interwoven
black and fleeting thoughts of life tick away like the beating heart in its
final hour… Okay maybe that's a little deep but then so is the subject matter
of this Nightingale release, the latest in the apparent sequence of thought
progressions based upon the existence of shadows and the effects played upon the
helpless mind at sleep. It's a very stirring record that embraces and transcends
the dark reality of Black Metal and Goth, neither of which are dramatically
employed here outside of lyrically, but pursued rather in a nearly progressive
musical fashion that's more a cross between the majestically sewn music of Ten
and the piercing, futuristic movements of a Lucassen or even a Vai, adding a
wholly spiritual dimension to these worldly proceedings that are on and again
infused with an organically inclined '70s flair ala Deep Purple or Rainbow. And
Dan Swano, multi-faceted mastermind behind this fourth installment, three years
following their last "title-less" or ("/") offering, appears
to have settled in for the ride this time, having solidified the Nightingale
lineup and developed an overall style that's an embodiment of the many
widespread vehicular experiments he'd followed on in a lengthy career that's
seen him go behind the mic, drums, and studio production knobs within and
without a traditionally Metal community that's included such widespread
fascination as Progressive Death Metal to Symphonic ProgPop… and think about
that last term, which I didn't coin, incidentally, but just the idea of it is
pretty out there. I first heard Swano in Edge Of Sanity, which was among the
artsier Death Metal projects of its time in the early nineties, incorporating
the now common Gothically rich melodies and tranquility amidst an otherwise
sinister expulsion that had helped really forge the optional route the genre
could later follow. So Nightingale began life in 1995 with "The Breathing
Shadow," and amidst about another three or four Swano projects running
concurrently, but having now resolved to relax a while in what is apparently the
cohesive creative influence and musical dynamic that Mr. Swano had been
searching for and availed upon.
"Alive Again" is less Prog, more melody, save for the exceptional
eleven minute centerpiece called "Eternal" which is one of the more
sonically diverse pieces in their history and simply a captivating soundscape,
in both music and lyric, in spite of a usually sleep-inducing length.
"Recollections" is an early piano piece that's a brief two-minute
introduction into this world of "Shadows" that soon embarks on an
affluent mind's perception of life, death, and what lies beyond the dark go
between. "Shadowman" and "The Glory Days" are two of the
higher level tracks on the record, where powerful riffs collide with catchiness
and Swano's ever presently deep, evocative, and desperate vocals rise up to full
display as only a chameleonic industry presence like himself might develop over
time. "The Glory Days" is a poppier example where keyboard interplay
gives rise to '80s friendly melodic Rock in a slow moving, forlorn ballad of a
song; "Falling" is a simple sounding throwaway that does nothing after
the verse; "Into The Light" introduces the groove of '70s style guitar
Rock and Hammond, much as has the latest Spiritual Beggars work for anyone
familiar with that, very comparative here on more than a few occasions.
"Alive Again" is a success on many levels, achieving musical depth
without overemphasizing technicality or the idea of "progression" and
is of a generally somber emotional tone yet not without hope; And not without a
few clunks here and there, starting with the sleepy drumming of the simple half
step premise that could stand greater production punch; and there's a couple
tracks toward the end that suffer from a choral repetitiveness - anyone remember
the last Cemetery record before they went "Sundown" and apparently
back again? - and underdeveloped structures as one might've earlier criticized
of the collectively non-essential European Pop Metal imports. Overall it's a
strong 7 out of 10 scale record that Swano fans should be satisfied with.
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