Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Time moves on, sometimes in full view of those it affects, the moments between events and happenings seemingly constantly flowing, like a raging river which refuses to yield to human interference and regulations, moment after tumbling white rapid moment etched on the mind of the observer forever; for some the timeless motion is only seen in fits and bursts, the sense of the eternal rest very much in evidence, the mindfulness that a river flows regardless of whether it being watched a powerful symbol of patience and fortitude.
The new wave of British Heavy Metal is a story that many will know, but for sure they won’t have read the appendix, the influence that comes after, especially that where the river surged into other domains, the valleys of Europe, the flood plains beyond the Channel’s influence and waxing tide.
From that influence, France’s Nightmare return, and in their forceful new album, Aeternam, the band takes bold and Metal statement tracks such as Divine Nemesis, Downfall Of A Tyrant, Crystal Lake, Black September, and the album’s title track, Aeternam, and makes them glorious, pounding beasts that get under the skin and finds the veins ready to pulse with definition and a beat so cool that the rivers can but only defer to the inevitability of many plunging in from the banks in order to chill off from the heat they have experienced.
From the minds of Tyves Campion, Franck Milleliri, Matt Asselberghs, Niels Quiais and Madie, a terrifically balanced and important album has appeared, perhaps unexpectedly, but certainly with pride and stirring imagery, and rounded off by music that site perfectly with the ethos and desire that kick started Nightmare off in the first place, and whilst it is unhelpful, arguably unreasonable, to compare bands with themselves when line-ups change, it has to be noted the sense of the extraordinary that has gone into making this particular album, the strength of purpose, the commitment and the staggering depth, making it surely one of the finest metal recordings to come out of France in some time.
An album of absolute sincerity and unflinching confidence, Nightmare return, but it is one that turns out to be a corker of a dream.
Nightmare release Aeternam on 2nd October via AFM Records.
Ian D. Hall