Night Crowned – Tales
Release Date: 10th November 2023
Label: Noble Demon
Bandcamp
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
FFO: Dark Funeral, Dissection & Behemoth.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Night Crowned strolled on to the Blackened Death Metal scene in 2020, with their assured debut ‘Impius Viam’, demonstrating an innate ability to construct a strong debut album that hinted at potential. Their 3rd full-length, Tales, is strides ahead of their debut, and for that matter, their sophomore album, helping to fulfil that potential.
With 9 tracks of sublime variations of Black and Death metal melding, Night Crowned have written an album that never sits still. Opening track, ‘De Namnlösa’ is a monstrous beast that features vocal support from Jens Rydén, a decision that provides the band with additional fervour! With atmospheric keys and the darkest of riffs, the album opener is a tour-de-force, making the listener immediately sit up and concentrate.
Tales never settles on a generic sound, there is enough variation in each track to keep you invested. ‘Nattram’, the albums 3rd track, is often deceptively heavy, whereas ‘Flickan Som Försvann’, contains more melody than is strictly necessary. Good Stuff!
The most impressive aspect of Night Crowned is their ability to seamless blend 2 genres. Being a Swedish band, Death Metal riffs are in their DNA, but it is the blackened element that sets the band apart. The wonderful use of keys, softer clean vocals, the addition of female vocals, vocals in English and their native Swedish, all goes towards delivering a strong, instantly enjoyable album.
Sometimes, bands can struggle with a 3rd album. Not Night Crowned, though. This is their strongest record to date and deserves all the praise it will inevitably get.
(4 / 5)
