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Following up on an impressive debut, Nightrage comes to us a second time armed with Descent Into Chaos. Their sophomore offering features 12 new songs, a new rhythm section, and a generally more aggressive, more traditional metal sound. Brice Lecrecq (bass on Nightrage's debut Sweet Vengeance) has gone the way of Dissection, Cipher System's Henric Carlsson taking his place. Per M. Jensen of The Haunted (who recorded drums, but wasn't officially a member of the band) was replaced by ex-Sceptic Flesh skinsman Fotis Bernardo. Also, metal legend Tomas Lindberg has assumed full vocal duties, with the only clean vocals being from Dark Tranquillity's Mikael Stanne in the chorus of the album's highlight "Frozen". The band still play melodic death metal, but this time it's a little less Gothenburg, and a little more classic metal-inspired. The riffs that Marios Iliopoulos and Gus G. employ are a bit thrashier, adding a pinch of groove in places. One area of improvement are the leads and solos which now have a bit more of a "shred" style to them, thanks to their more old-school approach. I've heard some make comparisons to American metalcore, but fortunately this is not the case. The music is still uncompromising and abrasive, and the overall difference on the band's second album delivered by this talented quintent isn't so vast that fans of Sweet Vengeance will be shocked.
Descent Into Chaos starts off with "Being Nothing," a catchy, thrashy track that is more or less indictative of the journey that follows throughout the rest of the album. Some songs stand out more than others, but I'd say Descent Into Chaos is devoid of anything that could be called filler. Even a rather lengthy instrumental towards the CD's conclusion manages to maintain my attention and awe. Once again, like their debut album, Nightrage isn't really breaking any ground, but in the sea of modern melo-death bands, they seem to have their heads a few inches above their peers as far as songwriting, catchiness, and raw talent go. Fans of the sub-genre residing in Europe should already be buying this, and those on the other side of the Atlantic would do well in downloading the opening track on the band's website to help tide them over until the April 5 U.S. release.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Being Nothing |
| 2. Phantasma |
| 3. Poems |
| 4. Descent Into Chaos |
| 5. Frozen |
| 6. Drug |
| 7. Silent Solitude |
| 8. Omen |
| 9. Release |
| 10. Solus |
| 11. JubilantCry |
| 12. Reality Vs. Truth |
: 46.27
| Buy other Nightrage albums |
