Nite Cult Of The Serpent Sun CD Review

What if I told you there was a such thing as a Black N’ Roll band in the Bay area? Would you believe it, I wouldn’t. Well, that’s what I’m here to tell you today – there’s a band from the Bay that deal in Blackened Rock N’ Roll and it’s more than fun, it’s in-fuckin-credible!

Nite is a U.S. band that just released their third album entitled “Cult of The Serpent Sun” courtesy of Season of Mist Records. This is another one of those bands that I’d never heard of until I got the promo in for review and now, I find myself a fanatic and am looking forward to digging into their back catalog. I’ll be doing that here directly, but for now, let’s talk some trash about the band’s newest long player, shall we.
 
The first thing you should know is that there’s not a Metal fan on this planet that won’t love this album, if they’ll just listen. It’s perfect from beginning to end. It has the best of everything that Metal/Rock N’ Roll has ever had to offer. There’s a ton of NWOBHM Metal riffs and lead breaks/fills, so I’m all up in feelings, reminiscing about my early days as a young Rock Warrior. I’m catching Maiden, Saxon, Priest, Grim Reaper and Savatage vibes musically and it grips me to my very core, and I can’t stop smiling. The Blackened part of this band/album comes strictly from the vocals and while some might find issue with that, we’re not talking shrieking/screeching vocals that pierce your psyche. These vocals sort of remind of a tamed down version of Goatwhore/God Dethroned. There’s melody lines and a bit of singing/key usage mixed in and it not only works, but it makes the entire experience more fun. The band’s approach to song writing/arrangements and structures really works, you can tell after one listen to the band’s lead single “Crow (Fear the Night)” that they put a lot of thought and effort into their craft. Everything seems so well thought out and perfectly placed/played. I also appreciate that the album clocks in around 37 minutes and only features 8 tracks, the band doesn’t toss a bunch of filler on the album, it’s all killer from front to back!
 
I like to think I’ve heard it all a few times and then some but there’s always a moment where a band will come along and blow my mind and have me fetching and stepping all over my words and thoughts. I’ve heard the term Blackened Metal, when reading about Nite, but I think that might be a little misleading – Black N’ Roll might be a better term. Yes, there’s enough Metal here to please, but it goes down slow and easy like a favorite Rock N’ Roll album. If you put this band on a package tour with Metallica, Mercyful Fate or Iron Maiden the world would be singing their praises in no time. This is the best album I’ve heard this year and it’s not even close and there’s been some bangers released, but Nite’s “Cult of The Serpent Sun” just lays waste to them all! Do not sleep on this album, you’ll surely want to experience this one. I’ll be grabbing an LP of this asap as well as the band’s first 2 releases.
 
The entire album KILLS but for reference these tracks are not to be missed – “Cult of The Serpent Sun”, “Carry On”, “Winds of Sokar” and “The Last Blade”.

~Black Angel