Nightmare - Encrypted

Angry Metal Guy

France’s Nightmare are no strangers to the metal scene (having started in the late ‘70s) nor these halls (garnering two write-ups from His Trvness Steel and one from Holden The Heavy). Starting out life as a classic heavy metal act, they reformed in the late ‘90s sporting a new Euro-power veneer. The addition of a rotating lineup of female vocalists in recent years has given the band a more modern, melodic direction, and Encrypted continues the path away from the Grotto of Gouda to the Cathedral of Corset. New vocalist Barbara Mogore aside, veteran bassist Yves Campion has led a mostly stable band lineup during Nightmare’s modern period, and if 2020’s Aeternam was any indication, these Frenchmen have a certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to the RIFF. Promising to expand their sound even further to include nods to symphonic black and melodic death metal, I was happy to snag the band’s latest and see what fire may be left in these bones.

Encrypted proves the axiom that an old dog can, indeed, learn new tricks. Much of the music contained herein is of the fist-pumping variety; an 80/20 blend of riff and melody. There are razor-wire waves of Mors Principium Est-style melodeath (“Nexus Inferi,” “Borderlands”) and the anthemic modern power we should have heard more frequently on the latest Unleash the Archers (“The Blossom of My Hate,” “Wake The Night”). Mogore’s vocals provide moments reminiscent of Eleine and the aforementioned Brittney Slayes, though the band wisely keep the synth orchestrals to a minimum, never fully committing to Corsetcore™. Although Campion is the only remaining member of the original Nightmare lineup, the band sound like a seasoned metal outfit. All the tracks here hover at or under 5 minutes, an economy of material showing a band fully in control of their compositional instincts.

For a band that’s been through three vocalists in as many albums, the microscope will always focus most intensely on Nightmare’s frontwoman. Replacing Madie from the Aeternam cycle, Mogore goes for a grittier approach to the microphone, spending much of the album in a low, tough-gal raspy style (“Nexus Inferi,” “Saviours of The Damned”). While the finished product sounds a bit forced, almost a parody of “metal” vocals—especially with how clear and forward it is in the mix—Barbara makes up for it with other tools in her kit. Breaking into her upper register reveals clear, powerful cleans (“The Blossom of My Hate,” “Eternal Winter”) and she has an impressive, menacing harsh growl à la Aephanemer (“The Blossom of My Hate,” “Borderlands”). The band—who rarely misstep—provide rock-solid support, comfortably setting up a dependable heavy power foundation before unleashing jaw-dropping melo-riffs in cuts like “Wake The Night” and “Encrypted.” With the exception of a dip towards more radio-friendly tracks at the back end (“White Lines,” “Incandescent”) this is an album jam-packed with material for head-banging and horn-raising.

Where Nightmare do misfire—and this is a big one given the style—is on the consistency of the choruses. Many of the metal styles making up Nightmare’s DNA—power, symphonic, heavy— rest on a bedrock of catchy, soaring choruses. For every ear-worm sing-along (“Nexus Inferi,” “Saviours of the Damned,” “Encrypted”) there are uninspiring offerings taking up space between superior riff pools (“Voices From The Other Side,” “Wake The Night,” “Incandescent”). Matters are made worse when Mogore employs her weakest weapon—that low vocal-fry growl—as opposed to her superior cleans and death snarls. As the album progresses, and especially with repeat listens, the gap in quality between the elite-level riffs and the more utilitarian verse/chorus patterns becomes wider, making me wonder if the band is withholding the best bits from us in service of a more digestible form.

Nevertheless, Nightmare has produced a pleasant—and at times revelatory—platter of hard-hitting heavy metal with Encrypted. And despite my criticisms, I hope Barbara sticks around more than a single album to gel even further with the band; she has enviable versatility and a ton of potential in those vocal chords. If you’re looking for some sharp, riffy, melodic fun without all the frippery of symphonic metal you could do worse than spinning Nightmare’s latest. I look forward to monitoring the progress of the French quintet, and will return often to Encrypted’s title track, especially its bridge section; quietly hiding a candidate for Riff o’ The Year.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s
Label: AFM
Website: facebook.com
Releases Worldwide: June 7th, 2024

The post Nightmare – Encrypted Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.