NIGHTMARE - review added 14th September 2009
Album Review: Insurrection (2009)
For fans of: Heavy Metal... and Nuclear disasters
French heavy metal pioneers Nightmare were formed at the tail end of the 70's and first came to prominence in '83 after opening for Def Leppard in their hometown of Grenoble in front of over 4000 fans.
Signed to Ebony Records the following year they recorded their debut album Waiting For The Twilight, and soon followed it with Power Of The Universe. Back then the line-up was Jean-Marie Boix (ex-Bronx), Jean Strippoli (guitar), Nicolas De Dominicis (guitar), Yves Campion (bass) and Jo Amore (drums).
Splitting after the 2nd album, then reforming at the end of the 90's, Nightmare released an EP - Astral Deliverance - and 3 further studio albums - Cosmovision, Silent Room and The Dominion Gate - which takes us to Insurrection, their 6th full length studio release.
Insurrection, recorded in 4 studios across Europe, marks 30 years since Nightmare's inception. These days the band has changed considerably; bass player Yves Campion is still there, as is original drummer Jo Amore...although he has now taken the role of vocalist. Jo's brother David is the present tub-thumper, Franck Milleliri and JC Jess round out the band on guitars.
I must confess I haven't knowingly heard any other work by the band so cannot compare new with old. Insurrection is heavy, loud and thrashy and should appeal to fans of the European heavy and power metal scenes. The sound crosses the divide between artists like Iced Earth, Metalium, Saxon and so on. In places the guitar work has a fabulous tone. 'The Gospel Of Judas' for instance has an utterly brilliant heavy inflection that's liable to put a small suspicious bulge in your undercrackers.
Nightmare are arguably guilty of playing it safe on too many occasions but, when they do go for it the results are phenomenal. Check out 'Cosa Nostra (Part I - The Light)' for all the proof you need. This is a song that sounds like Fear Factory with added musicianship and it'll make you headbang so much you'll need to go to A&E. The problem is that songs of this magnitude are thin on the ground. Nightmare don't seem to put as much merit in the concept of the big chorus as they should. Shame. They are heavy, but their accessibility demands that massive hook...and they don't often offer one up.
I want to love this album and, in places, I do. Insurrection is part excellent, part mundane metal-by-numbers. That's a tad frustrating but whether it'll spoil your enjoyment is debatable. The guitar work throughout is so stunning it'll have you coming back for more just to indulge in those beastly riffs...but equally they'll only serve to remind you what could have been. Nightmare clearly have the balls and talent to make something totally off the scale. This isn't it, but it ain't far off.
Check out... The cool artwork :)
Track List:
01. Eternal Winter
02. The Gospel Of Judas
03. Insurrection
04. Legions Of The Rising Sun
05. Three Miles Island
06. Mirrors Of Damnation
07. Decameron
08. Target For Revenge
09. Cosa Nostra (Part I - The Light)
10. Angels Of Glass
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Nightmare | MySpace | Facebook
