Richard HolmesNite – Cult Of The Serpent Sun (Season of Mist)
Nite’s Voices Of The Kronian Moon lit up 2022: scintillating, NWOBHM-forged riffery blended with Van Labrakis’ deep necro rasp in one of our albums of that year. The San Francisco act struck gold on their sophomore opus… and the Bay Area trembled under their might.
Three years later, the quartet have lost none of their panache.
There’s an otherworldly aura around Cult Of The Serpent Sun that is hard to resist: this is heavy metal with soul, crafted with a true passion for blackened art. Every note is just meant to be.
Yes, Nite’s musicianship frequently dazzles. Labrakis and fellow guitarist Scott Hoffman trade leads like prime Smith/Murray, their intoxicating fretwork arcing across tracks like Carry On and Crow (Fear The Night).
But they show admirable restraint.
Feel is the priority here.
And that makes for one hell of a record.
Nite strike
The band admit that this time, they were influenced by their time on the road: fans’ response to earlier cuts inspired Nite to get faster and harder on Cult… Skull, for example sees the band tear it up with proto-thrash riffs, and the title track is a far meaner proposition than what we heard on Voices.
As for The Last Blade – could it be one of the most exhilarating heavy metal songs you’ll hear all year? It’s early days, but this heroic masterpiece is sure to be contender. Tingling acoustic intro, soaring melodies, lean, gut punch riffing… this is how you write metal, folks.
But despite Cult’s extra grit, it’s arguably the album’s most subtle piece that takes the crown. Nestling mid-record, The Mystic reaches out across the void, and there’s a dark beauty to the song that lingers long after its closing strains fade away.
Cult classic? This sonically rich, majestic album is all of that and more.
Band photo by Kristin Cofer.
