Album Review: Nite – Cult of the Serpent Sun
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
San Francisco blackened heavy metal quartet, Nite, are to release their third full-length, Cult of the Serpent Sun, this month, following a three-year wait. However, and before I start this review, I must give a warning to all readers who grew up listening to Anvil, Demon, Tank and their ilk: if you’re going to listen to Nite’s new record, you’re going to have to book yourself in to see a Chiropractor, as that neck has been through enough and just won’t take anymore.
A frivolous attempt at being humorous, but with a serious message: Cult of the Serpent Sun will take the listener back to the heady days of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, through its unapologetic reliance on big riffs, big hooks and big guitars.
The record’s intent is laid out in the first few minutes, as the title track unfolds in those hook-laden riffs, focusing on establishing an atmosphere rather than going for breakneck speed, Cult of the Serpent Sun is content to let the music do the talking. Vocalist Van Labrakis verbalises the album with a low and gravelly timbre; think of Lemmy’s pipes on Orgasmatron and you’ll not be too far off.
Skull revels in its fat chugging and features an evil bend at the outset. Crow (Fear the Night) has a vast, wide-open sound and includes impressive, soaring guitar work from Labrakis and his six-string partner, Scoff Hoffman.
Carry On (not, alas, a Manowar cover) updates the sound somewhat, moving away from an Eighties British to a more European ambience; it’s all still anchored by the impressive rhythm work of Avinash Mittur and drummer, Patrick Crawford, whose work throughout the album is crucial to providing a solid foundation from which the guitars can build.
Coming in with a speedy acoustic intro and a driving Priest-style riff, The Last Blade’s ascending guitars give a distinctly upbeat feel; closing track, Winds of Sokar, merge those elements with sharp and choppy passages, leading to a searing solo as the album comes to an end.
At a mere eight tracks and a sub-forty-minute running time, you’d probably excuse Nite if they focused on the style that was so successful elsewhere; yet, the two track on Cult of the Serpent Sun which elevate the whole album from being merely Great, are the central The Mystic, where cascading guitars and a slow, oozing atmosphere is a step away from the aggression heard previously. Nite set out to explore a single riff on The Mystic, turning it over again and again, and extracting the more blackened aspects of their craft.
Later, Tarmut appears, and is the closest Nite come to being full-on Black Metal. Fat, full-bloodied chugging gives the opening some gravitas, but it’s the guitar work of Van and Scott that truly lift Tarmut to loftier heights. It’s the longest track on the record, but not a single second is wasted.
On Cult of the Serpent Sun, Nite have proven that, no matter how much you try to add-on or develop the genre, there’s simply no substitute for stripped back, balls-to-the-wall Metal. This is an album of fist-pumping, chest-beating anthems likely to stir the blood of those of us who spent our school days listening to Saxon, Maiden and Priest- and taking the flack for it by classmates who like Wham! Adam and the Ants and Duran Duran. Not that I harbour any long-term trauma over that, clearly.
Nite have produced an album that is an anachronism when compared to many of its contemporary releases; but it’ll make you want to put on a leather jacket and sunglasses, wind the windows down and blast it from a cassette player, annoying the neighbours as you do. Just like we used to!
Wonder where can get a mark III Capri these days???
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