by Martin Popoff
Night In Gales - Nailwork
(Nuclear Blast)Now having worked this corner for three years, in fact, in the light of history, setting up as one of the early death/melody crossover acts, Night In Gales should see some return. But press has been middling, perhaps due to the band being Germans doing something inherently Swedish, perhaps due to a nagging second-stringism applied unjustifiably. But Nailwork continues with the band's innovative, quick-change death progression, sounding like an In Flames flicking channels on the Talking Head(s), perhaps the twin-lead Bastens in the band picking up a few moves on the band's '98 tour with In Flames and then doing a cut and paste job It's an intriguing mix, Night In Gales almost sounding like the Queen of death (think Keep Yourself Alive or Ogre Battle), focusing on formidable metal might, but experimenting in almost avant garde-like fashion often and oddly. I mean, check out the band's At The Gates-ish cover of Alannah Myles' Black Velvet (Robert Plant nailed 'er). Dodgy, but indicative of the band's fruitcake approach to creativity (remember Queensryche and Dalbello?). Maybe, just maybe, these guys are more like Mike Myers' Sprockets guys, gone metal in masquerade.
Rating 8Angel Witch - Resurrection
(Crook'd)It's long established that Angel Witch own (arguably) the best NWOBHM album of all time with their '80 debut. But then things went downhill quick with crap songs, production, line-up changes, Kevin Heybourne forever doomed to relive his early glories. Resurrection finds the man old school doom-thrash second-guessing those glories, Heybourne and assorted hangers-on bashing out these demos of new original material from three eras, 1987, 1990 and 1998. The sound quality is pretty rough through all three sessions, all gutted, muffled and mid-ranged, and the songs are also hit or miss. The best pose revisionist mind games: even though you aren't impressed in your jaded and aged decrepitude, in actuality, the cream (Worm, Inertia and Twist Of The Knife) would likely fit well on that classic of old. But the worst court panicked U.S. or Under One Flag thrash combined with crooked melodies that bray in the ear like late Raven (Psychopathic 1 and Violence: yech!). Like I say, the theme is second-guessing, one imagining Heybourne grunting, perplexed and foggily searching for the chord he so authoritatively wielded and then sadly misplaced.
Rating 6
