Single Slam – Queen of the Nite (featuring Liv Kristine) by Ben Blutzukker

The talented and creative one man project, Ben Blutzukker has a brand new single due out on the 13th of February. The single is called Queen of the Nite and features guest vocals from Liv Kristine.

Ben Blutzukker formed in 2015. It is actually a one man project by the man behind the successful dark electro project called Blutzukker. His first release as Ben Blutzukker was called Analog Blood. In this EP some of the dark electro tracks were turned into metal tracks mixing traditional heavy metal, black metal and thrash to formulate a style of his own. Check out our review of that EP here. We also interviewed the man behind the music and you can read that here. His second EP as Ben Blutzukker was called Riptide. Read about that one here.

Basically, Ben Blutzukker is one of those people you think stood in front of you in the queue when musical talent was being handed out. Somehow getting your share too. Like in his previous work, all instruments and vocals on Queen of the Nite are performed, recorded, mixed and produced by him. Other than Liv Kristine’s of course, famous to me as the founder of Leaves Eyes as well as being the female vocals on Cradle of Filth’s Nymphetamine. That is barely scratching the surface of the songs and bands Liv has been involved in though.

Queen of the Nite is just over 6 and a half minutes long. It sits firmly on the symphonic metal side of things. Right from the off we are treated to the big, emphatic sound familiar of bands within that genre. A lead guitar hits a few notes before drums join in for an almost folkish melody. This fades into a chugging riff as violins seep in and take over the lead. It all comes together nicely, giving a feeling of grandiose to proceedings. Liv Kristine’s clean and sultry tones take over, singing beautifully over a restrained riff and medium paced drum beat.

The chorus is catchy enough and sees the guitars jump in with a bit more volume. The end of the second chorus transitions nicely into a fantastic solo that sits on top of a chugging bass heavy riff. Real head nodding material. When the clean, melodic vocals come back in they are joined by Ben Blutzukker’s growls. Both singers have their own set of lyrics but sing in tandem. It could have easily become confused here but they work really well together, slotting in like pieces of a puzzle. The two stars work off of each other throughout the rest of the track while the instruments spit out layered sounds utilising orchestral power to emphasise the guitars and drums.

Check it out, with accompanying Lego Mini Figure video below –

Queen of the Nite is very different to anything I have heard from the Ben Blutzukker camp thus far. Again showing a glimpse of just how far his talents reach. Liv Kristine has a great voice, that doesn’t even need mentioning. As I have written in previous Blutzukker reviews, I don’t think Ben has a particularly special voice but it works well here as Kristine’s is the prominent vocalist. What is great though is the music, the layers and the transitions. The solo is excellent but it is the little moments of violin that pierce the riff that I love. The switches in drum tempo, the little bass lines that jump forward and the way they are all gently moulded together. Everything has a place and works as a collection of individual instruments and vocals coming together to form a full and exciting sound.

As a little bonus you also get a stripped back version of the song, purely show casing the orchestral side. At under 4 minutes, it is shortened but makes for an interesting listen. Hearing the orchestral layer separated out is pretty neat though of course it is just a little bonus, it is the main song you are likely to find yourself pressing repeat on.