Nightfall – Cassiopeia (2013)

After their triumphant return in 2010 with “Astron Black and the Thirty Tyrants”, today we have Nightfall and their less inspired latest release “Cassiopeia”. Just when one thinks a band is back in full swing, they release an album that feels more forced that natural. Don’t get us wrong, “Cassiopeia” is a solid album but it feels like the band had it on the closet for 6-7 years and sounds a bit outdated for today’s standards.

Opening with “Phaethon”, the band delivers solid riffing that reminded us of Gothic/Doom/Death Metal albums from the mid 90’s, the period when Nightfall was at their prime. Paired with subtle keyboard hints and solid growls, the band sounds pretty powerful but after a few tracks it just gets old. The speedups of “Oberon & Titania” and other songs take away a bit from the linearity of this release, but ultimately are not enough to keep us interested on the songs as we were for the band’s previous release.

While many things are very repetitive in this release, there are still cool moments like the melodic riffing of “The Nightwatch”, reminding us a bit of Eternal Tears of Sorrow and their similar musical style. The repetitive nature of the album becomes very predictable since most songs follow the structure of catchy riffs, guitar solos here and there, and atmospheric keyboards when the vocals come in. While the band mixes things up a bit, they fail to make the songs compelling and easily discernible.

In general, “Cassiopeia” feels like an album that arrived late to the party. If we had reviewed this release back in 1999 we would have probably given it 95 out of 100 points, but for now it fails to impress and innovate in any aspect. The album is not bad at all, just a bit dated. So if you are stuck in time and want to listen to some Gothic/Death/Doom Metal from the mid 90’s, this release is right up your alley.

Release: January 22nd, 2013

Genre: Death/Doom/Gothic Metal

Country: Greece