’Wearing a Martyr’s Crown’ is my first close encounter with the Greek/Swedish melodic death metal band NIGHTRAGE... and hopefully not my last. Not like this disc has knocked me out off my socks but it's a solid release in my humble opinion.
We get 11 tracks of stunning musicianship and very typical harsh/aggressive vocals we all know so very well in this genre. So nothing new or groundbreaking here? Well... the songs are peppered with acoustic passages that suit the music fine. DAMN... these guys really knows their way around their instruments. Everything is well-written, well-arranged and the production is crystal clear and this is a very enjoyable listen form start to finish, but I miss something. I miss the WOW-effect.
The music... especially the guitar runs are excellent but I miss a “catchy” chorus now and then.
A melodic death metal song should contain a catchy chorus with clean vocals just like we are used to, right?
The fact is that every single song is on the exact same level. I really miss a hammer-track or 5. ’Wearing a Martyr’s Crown’ is a solid piece of work but not outstanding. But every genre-connoisseur should at least give this CD a listen.
Solid!
