91 days till W:O:A 2023.
I had such a hard time moving on from Sólstafir. As always when I find something I really like, I totally binged their music over the last couple of weeks. But - with only 91 days to go, I still have a lot more preparation to do with regards to the Wacken line-up, so I picked up the next band on my list: The Eternal Night.
Albeit a relatively new band formed in 2018 in Essen their sound is authentically oldschool. Their first studio album The Night Eternal (2021) features 9 tracks and runs for roughly 40 minutes, which makes it easy to listen to this album in one go.
Their music has been described as a mixture of 80s heavy metal, classic rock and dark rock. The latter two are mainly due to Ricardo Baum's vocals in my opinion. I find his voice to be very hardrock-y. Probably it is just me, but he reminds me of 3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold. As I do like 3 Doors Down, this is not a bad thing, it just throws me off at times, especially when the soaring twin guitars from lead guitarist Rob Richter and rhythm guitarist Henry Käseberg manage to immerse you into very Maidenesque atmosphere.
In general, Moonlit Cross holds many memorable riffs and catchy choruses and has you nodding your head merrily all through the album. There is not one track that is bad or boring, it is a very solid album through and through and I absolutely liked it.
The opener Elysion (Take Me Over) got it's own music video and is surely one of the most catchy songs on the album. The chorus is perfect to sing along and sticks with you for a while. Cloaked In Darkness was one of the songs I instantly liked for the guitars intro theme. Son Of Sin starts with a guitar solo that totally reminds me of the Dio era before switching to some fine Maiden gallopps and great bass runs from bassist Jones Nühlen. The resemblence to Maiden stops immediately when Baum starts singing with a lot of grit in his voice. Deadly As A Scythe is one of the songs where I get massive alternative rock vibes. My personal favourite is Shadow's Servants, which had already been released as a single in 2020. The song is very riffy and catchy with a stomping rhythm and I definitely do get some dark rock flair here.
Prison of Flesh features some goth-like vocals from Baum, which might need some getting used to. The chorus is yet again very catchy and makes this song surely perfect for playing live. We do hear some very powerful drumming from Aleister Präkelt in this one. Closeness In Suspension sounds a bit different than the other songs and is probably the weakest song for me on this album, it is hard to pin down why. The guitar solo in the middle though is absolutely great and reminiscent of Maiden once again. The title track and album closer Moonlit Cross shows once again Baum's vocal range and features great melodic guitar parts and yet another great solo from lead guitarist Rob Richter.
In conclusion - a very enjoyable album from an absolutely authentic and talented German band. Looking forward to seeing you at Wacken, guys! 🤘
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