Single Slam – Bemoan by Nightrage (The Venomous)

Melodic death metal masters, Nightrage, have released the 4th single from their new album. That single is called Bemoan. The new album, The Venomous, is due for release on the 31st of March via Despotz Records.

Nightrage, a Greek/Swedish group have been leading the charge for melodic death metal from the beginning. The Venomous is going to be their 7th full release. After being treated almost as aside project in the early years, in the last few they have really come into their own and the quality of metal they have been releasing is staggering.

From 2011’s Insidious to 2015’s The Puritan, it was clear that Nightrage were now taking themselves very seriously and the metal community is better for it. The singles from The Venomous so far continue that upward trajectory and the addition of new band members to bring them up to a 5 piece has just added strength and depth to an already strong and talented band.

There have been three singles so far in title track The Venomous, Affliction and In Abhorrence and they are all special, special tracks. Especially Affliction – man I love that song. I really feel that this band have pushed on to another level now and I think it is the new line up that is driving it. The mix of old ideals and new ideas is just working for them on many levels.

Nightrage’s line up is spearheaded by the inspirational Marios Iliopoulos who is the founding member and lead guitarist of the band. He is joined by Anders Hammer on the bass. Then we have Ronnie Nyman on vocals, Lawrence Dinamarca on drums and Magnus Soderman on guitars.

On to Bemoan then where I guess the biggest problem for Nightrage now is going to be the bar they have set in my mind. It is high. Really high. At some point they aren’t going to hit their own standard. It is impossible to do it every time. Is this the one that falls a little short after such amazing consistency?

No, it isn’t.

Bemoan is another top, top quality song. Bemoan is just over 4 minutes long and starts with a chugging, heavy riff that ends with a little guitar flourish. The drumming is rhythmic. The bass is heavy. The intro is so packed full of groove, you just can’t help nodding along from the first second. Ronnie’s strong and passionate shouts come in over that same guitar driven groove and within a minute, I am in love with this song.

“The weight of the world on my shoulders” is roared out as the vocal speed kicks up into the chorus. The drums and bass keep the steady rhythm tapping out while the lead guitars mix between a low chugging riff and higher toned line.

The second verse ends straight into a signature solo from the mighty Marios Iliopoulos. The solo is fast and passionate with drawn out squeals and fingers flying around the fret board. It ends into a cool chugging riff over slow thundering drums. The music starts speeding up and the drums are now viciously fast, but still packing rhythm. A short melodic section gives you a second to catch your breath before we are ripped back into the heavy chorus through to the end.

Bemoan is yet another absolute banger of a track. Nightrage are at the point where the music they release is so good, so consistent, that it baffles me why this band aren’t on the front cover of every magazine and music site out there. In some parts of the world, melodic death metal doesn’t get the respect it deserves. If any band can change that, it is Nightrage.

Forget the melodic bit, forget the death bit. Nightrage are a top, top metal band and if you don’t believe me, just listen to Bemoan. Hell, just listen to anything they have released in recent years.

Finally, I just want to quickly commend Revolver Design on the artwork that has featured on each individual single, and on the album. It really captures visually what the band are doing musically.

I have always made it very clear that I am a fan of Nightrage. I respect and admire them. They do everything the right way. They work hard, take nothing for granted and most importantly, release consistently high quality heavy metal. Bemoan is another slab of evidence pointing towards The Venomous being one of the album’s of the year. As metal fans, you don’t want to miss out on this one.

Check out Bemoan for yourself here. It’s great right? So why not head across to Despotz Records to pre order a copy and show your support? Keep an eye on Nightrage on Facebook, and Twitter for more information on the band, their tours and the album.