Dead of Night is the debut album from Londoners Night Screamer. Oliver, The Rockpit’s pretend English person, gave it a good old listen and tried his best to not use bad cockney slang.
Before anything else, I’ve got to say that the album art is top notch. With a sports car driving directly into skull, which is eating a city WHILE ELECTRIFIED, as zombie hands try to fondle the car’s hot exhaust, I think we’ve reach peak Metal™. It really can’t be topped, every other band might as well give up. 10 out of 10 based on the cover alone.
When I actually pressed play and began the first song, I knew I was in for a good time. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a bit of an 80s revival going on at the moment, of which Night Screamer are a proud part. This is a solid album of tunes that wouldn’t be out of place on a Bill & Ted soundtrack. I have no idea what the band members look like, but I feel bandanas would suit them well. Bandanas are really cool.
And man, there’s some catchy tunes on here. A particular favourite is Hit n’ Run, which has this great Mötley Crüe vibe. It’s the sort of song you’d play in your 70s Ford Falcon as you do burnouts in a Rockingham carpark (seriously don’t actually do burnouts, it makes the shopping centre mad). They’ve also got a great slow song in the form of Paradise Lost. This has more of a classic groove texture ala the Pantera Cemetery Gates.
There are a few things I do need to nit pick though. A small gripe is that the mix is a bit treble intense for my taste. It’s not too over the top, but it could do with a bit of toning down. It constantly sounds like it’s about to peak and lose fidelity. Other than that the overall balance is pretty good. It definitely has that great hammer to the head feel that I love about the more classic styles of heavy metal.
The single biggest problem with the album though is that…how can I say this without sounding rude…the singer doesn’t really sound that great. Put it like this; music in this oeuvre requires singers who are the best of the best. Like, if they’re only 99% good it can throw off the whole song. At a pinch I’d say Night Screamer’s singer is about at the 95% mark. The issues are especially noticeable on the first two songs, Sacrifice and Night Screamer. It just sounds like he’s not quite in sync with the rest of the band. His phrasing is also that little bit off, it really causes my ears to itch.
Dead Of Night is really interesting. While in many ways it needs improvement, I can honestly say I enjoyed my time with it. This is one of those bands I’ll look forward to checking in on over time to see them develop. I reckon that while this album does need a bit of polish, they have great promise. The 80s truly will never die!
Track Listing
1 – Sacrifice
2 – Night Screamer
3 – Blood On The Wall (Fucked it up!)
4 – Hit n’ Run
5 – March Of The Dead
6 – Party With The Devil
7 – Paradise Lost
8 – Rise Above
9 – Out of my Mind