Nightrage Descent Into Chaos

There was a time when metal from Sweden, particularly Gothenburg, was seen as something novel, creative, unique, and refreshing. With the break-up of giants like At the Gates, the poor choice of direction of bands like In Flames, and the seemingly endless stylistic bandwagoning of successive American bands, the popular Swedish sound has become bastardized, if not utterly boring. However, this does not mean that quality metal cannot still come out of Sweden. Nightrage is one such example that still offers some sign of life in a very clichéd scene. Perhaps Nightrage's only reason for quality is the fact that they are a super group of sorts. Featuring former members of metal bands like Dream Evil and Septic Flesh, and fronted by Tomas Lindberg formerly of At the Gates (and a thousand other bands), Nightrage know how to put together an album from years of combined experience. Despite losing some of their "star" power since their previous record in the form of Per M. Jensen (the Haunted) and Tom S. Englund (Evergrey), the revamped lineup proves to work together well (however, it should be noted that just last month Lindberg quit the group). The same individual efforts that made previous members' projects memorable are still evident on the newest recording Descent Into Chaos. Lindberg's vocals are as harsh as ever layered on top of a melodic dual guitar attack as expected by this style of metal. The powerful rhythm section backs this up well and offers every thing from mid to slow tempo grooves to furious blast beats. While Descent Into Chaos continues without interruption from where Sweet Vengeance left off, the new album seems to lack some of the intensity that the previous effort had. By intensity, I don't mean heaviness per se; there just seems to be a little umph missing. There is, however, an overabundance of hooks, which could account for the slightly watered down feeling. Sometimes throughout the recording it sounds as though the band is using a standard template for song writing. There isn't a vast amount of difference between the songs, and upon repeated listenings, things become a little repetitive and monotonous. Bottom Line: Of course this lacks the urgency of the Swedish material a decade ago, but to directly compare any current band to something from that era would be unfair. However, if new, quality metal with roots in the classic Swedish sound is desired, and something completely unique and different isn't necessary, then Nightrage certainly delivers.