Band: Nightrage
Title: Wearing A Martyr’s Crown
Label: Lifeforce Records
Distribution: Suburban
Release date: 25/06/2009
Review: CD

When former Exhumation-member Marios Iliopoulos started Nightrage, he wanted to pay tribute to the old Gothenburg-school. Throughout the years Nightrage released three full lengths, Sweet Vengeance (Century Media), Descend Into Chaos (Century Media) and A New Disease Is Born (the band’s Lifeforce-debut), all highly acclaimed by both media and audience. Along with (former) members of, for example, Suicide Of Demons, Burn Your Halo and Dragonland, Marios recorded this fourth album at Studio Fredman, one of the most influential studios when it comes to the (modern) Gothenburg-sound - think At The Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and Soilwork amongst others. The result is the strongest one to date, yet beware: it doesn’t always convince (me).
Honouring a certain sound or scene can only be praised, but you better try to add your own elements to it to impress, or you need to exceed with (modest) superiority. In Nightrage’s case I do miss it from time to time; sometimes it sounds too predictable or too mainstream. However, many pieces are above average too. The song writing indeed is technical and well-performed, with a careful eye for both melody and power. The varying songs sound catchy, but at the same time they come with an aggressive drive, sometimes ingenious riffs, a brutal up-tempo rhythm and nice tempo-changes. Fifty two minutes might seem (too) long, yet I’ve heard worse lately, that’s a certainty.

80/100

Ivan Tibos.