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Apocalypse

    
       
       
       
     
             
Nightfear are a heavy metal band from Spain formed in 2008, releasing their debut album 'Inception' in 2012. The bands sophomore album 'Drums Of War' was a 2015 release, with their third album, 'Apocalypse', released in 2020.    
             
Delivering an intense heavy metal experience, Nightfear play with energy, strength and melody...which places them, and their sound, alongside such giants as Rage, Powerwolf and Primal Fear. The bands new album is nothing short of stunning... Ten songs over an incredible sixty minutes batters the hell out of your hearing, yet leaves you in an elevated state of sheer happiness - that some call euphoria...and they wouldn't be wrong. The album gets off to an absolute flyer with the scorching pace of 'We Are Back', a ferocious fury of all out pace that screams "sit up and take notice" - and take notice you will. 'We Are Back' is a thrilling opening shot, one that is guaranteed to blow away all those dusty cobwebs, no matter how long they've been in residence. The heaviness continues with 'Shine', bringing a more melodic metal feel to the album. Catchy and infectious, 'Shine' bellows European style power metal, harking back to the glorious days when bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Rage were ruling the roost.    
             
Nightfear are one of the "new breed" of modern power metallers, and on the evidence of their latest offering, are in a strong position to be at the forefront of the genre for many years to come. 'Living Your Life' slows the pace dramatically to become a very heavy foot stomp, and land in epic metal territory. 'Living Your Life' is bold, brash and bombastic as it swaggers on to a finish. Of the ten songs on offer, only three are less than five minutes in length, with the longest clocking in at an incredible eight and half minutes... Thundering heavy power metal returns with an emphatic bang, as 'A Better World' picks up the pace to become a blazing speedster. The head bang ability of 'A Better World' is off the scale, an injection of the aggressiveness of thrash, only adds to the songs exhilarating pace. And the pace gets even quicker as 'The Stranger' comes to life and hurtles at high velocity like a rocket blasting off to space. Nightfear are doing the world of heavy power metal a massive favour, cementing the genres attraction and appeal by delivering an early contender for Album of the Year. Oh crikey, wow - 'Psichokiller' is an instrumental, and a fucking brilliant one. Fast, furious and fierce, 'Psichokiller' runs the gamut of heavy metal - passages of thrash, power and traditional heavy metal all woven together with strands of the melodic. This is one of the most stunning instrumentals I have ever heard. What a song! What an album! What a band!    
             
And there's still four songs to go... The first of which is the thrash metal influenced 'Through The Stars'. Pioneers of this thrashy power metal style Rage, would be proud of what Nightfear are achieving with their latest offering. And, by the way, Rage have also released an album this year, so the battle for Album of the Year is already (hotly) underway. Nightfear have taken both the European and American styles of power metal, and mixed them with the classic sound of traditional heavy metal, and come up with an explosive style of their own. 'Nuclear Winter' is mid tempo, very, very heavy, yet maintains the albums overall melodic stand point of view. I tell ya, this is terrific stuff and I wanna hear more - and I will because there are two songs remaining. And, oh my fucking God - the pace of 'The Evil In You' is electrifying! Superbly fast and head bang able to the max, Nightfear excel in delivering an Overkill esque neck breaker, vigorously banging heads back and forth at such an extreme rate that neck muscles are gonna tear under the strain - you have been warned. And to the final song, the eight minutes plus 'Angels Of Apocalypse'. A mellow intro accompanied by a spoken word passage sets a haunting and very atmospheric scene, followed by soulful vocals as though we're heading for power ballad land. But give over, at just two minutes in the heaviness comes crashing down like a wrecking ball demolishing a building, and 'Angels Of Apocalypse' adopts a colossal, and majestic foot stomp. And oh, what's this - a sudden change of pace towards the end turns 'Angles Of Apocalypse' from a melodic march into a ferocious gallop, hurtling on to a finish with urgency and purpose. A glorious final hurrah, and a last chance for some frenetic head banging.    
             
Overall, a superb album of fast paced power metal come heavy metal with thrash metal nuances, Nightfear have excited, delighted and amazed.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Fighter Records    
             
             
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