This US band are relatively fresh of the blocks from Texas, their traditional metal approach has been well received of late, and I personally sport a lot of their merchandise. So with this, their debut, it’s quite a thrill to finally hear after a few months of only one or two tracks being available online.
One thing to note, every track is new, a fresh start, no re-recording of the EP (‘In Praise of the Shadow’) material. Timing was against the band when Covid-19 hit the world, so more time was spent recording new material and telling tales of a dystopian future. The music style comes more from Europe and the UK. Angel Witch, Mercyful Fate and early Iron Maiden are named and clearly audible during album tracks. The lead track ‘The Serpents Kiss’ is your juggernaut heavy metal track with some head space vocals added from time to time whilst generally keeping things more rooted to the core. Some may find the production strange at first, I found that, then if you use decent headphones or a sound system the full dynamic range is clear, thus I would advise physical purchase. ‘Black Venom Dreams’ has some more “king diamond-isms” vocally, purely for the range, musically, you almost know what you will get based on the other two bands I have mentioned earlier.
The NWoBHM influenced is very prevalent around the 3 minute mark of ‘For Those Who Walk the Night’. The track moves along in a similar vein to the rest of the album, then this section picks up your hearing quite spectacularly. In fact, this is a trait of the whole release, just when you wane a little, Night Cobra add in the riffs and arrangements that change the character and stance of their songs. ‘In Mortal Danger is fast and furious, almost starting like Metallica’s ‘Hit the Lights’. This then changes in the verse into a standard traditional metal style, which is a shame really, but the faster sections start up again, so you are not dejected for too long. Overall, I think the band simply have a knack for kicking you up the arse when you are down. A clever bit of song writing, touché. I would have expected the spooky instrumental ‘Acid Rain’ to be at the start or end of the release, but hey, trip out accordingly.
In line with the current crop of awesome traditional heavy metal bands, such as Toledo Steel, Eliminator and the like, Night Cobra may not be on the mind of some of us over here, but globally, they can be world players for sure. The band’s sound travels well, coupled with the artwork, logo and image is simply magnificent. The band have expanded their sound writing and sound since the EP, but I do feel there is promise and progression to move even further.
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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