#in-solitude — Public Fediverse posts

Do you, like me, ever find yourself missing the sheer metallic perfection of the first few Mercyful Fate albums? Both Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath cast such a brilliantly macabre, occult atmosphere that they surely amplified the already palpable Satanic Panic of the mid-80s. Good things never last, but for a brief time, In Solitude managed to partially fill the dead spot in my heart that longed for more albums like those Fate classics, but all too soon they were gone too. Enter German metal crew The Night Eternal to fill the gap created by In Solitude, if not the yawning chasm left by Mercyful Fate. I discovered them on their 2023 sophomore release Fatale, and was quite impressed. Their sound was like an early, less Satanic Fate strained through a Goth rock filter, and it worked exceptionally well. Now, a few years later, we get the follow-up, Cold Velvet. The basic template is still in place, but this time they’ve gone deeper into the Goth rock doldrums and dulled their heavy metal edge in the process, approximating the Idle Hands / Untoothers material. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for ’em.

The Night Eternal’s strengths heard on gems like “In Tartus” from Fatale are still present on opener “Where This World Ends,” as frontman Ricardo Baum’s slick merger of King Diamond, To Die For’s Jarno Perätalo, and Amorphis’ Tomi Joutsen pays big dividends. The pure metal quotient of the backing music feels a touch softer than last time, even approaching Ghost-levels of hard and Goth rock, but the song works and hooks you in. As Cold Velvet plays out, the Goth vibe increases. “Eurydice (Don’t Look Back)” is a polished take on 80s Goth rock, and it has legs and memorability that demand replays. This could have sat on Mana by Idle Hands and fit right in if they added a few werewolf-y grunts and howls. “Caught in a Spell” is a very laid-back piece of Goth flair with an easy breezy charm, and after a few spins it cements itself into your nerve clusters. It even has a vague Wytch Hazel vibe that adds extra charisma points.

The best moments come when The Night Eternal put their foot on the accelerator and dial up the metal. “The Veins of Time” is a throwback to Fatale, hitting the sweet spot between metal and Goth. It’s a bit more urgent and edgy without forsaking the sadboi glumness, and there’s a Sisters of Mercy vibe under the surface. My personal favorite track is “Shape of Sorrow” as it’s the most jacked-up version of the band’s current formula. It’s hardly a face-melter, but it offers more intensity and less moping and feels considerably heavier than the rest of Cold Velvet. Unfortunately, a few tracks, while good, just don’t sizzle enough to excite the grey matter, and when teamed up with the album’s languid vibe, they drag the excitement factor down a few notches. “When the Last Candle Dies” is like a lost modern Ghost track, and it’s okay but not much more, and closer, “Dance on Crimson Ground,” is the longest here at 7 minutes, but it isn’t all that interesting. At 42-plus minutes, Cold Velvet isn’t a challenging listen, but it isn’t the most exciting one either. The Goth influences result in a muted, sometimes drab expanse, and though the writing overcomes the limited color scheme at times, the album merely glides but never soars.

As with past outings, Ricardo Baum is the star of The Night Show. He’s got a big vocal presence that’s hard to resist, and he’s the kind of frontman that elevates everything a band does. He can sound like a youthful King Diamond, but this time he seems much more determined to turn himself into the prototype for an 80s Goth rock hero. He regularly delivers slick vocal hooks and phrasing that add a cool factor to everything the band does. There’s an argument to be made that the music behind Baum is more anodyne than last time. Robert Richter and Heinrich Käseberg can be a potent guitar tandem as they demonstrated on the prior albums, injecting classic metal and NWoBHM influences into their playing. Here, however, they dial things back to more Goth-appropriate levels, sacrificing power for poise. That makes for a less dynamic listen with fewer big, brain-shaking metal moments. Talent abounds, but the material feels overly restrained and held in check, and that’s unfortunate.

The Night Eternal are a very good band capable of delivering solid music that spans several genres. On Cold Velvet, they deliver some high-quality moments, but these highs aren’t as lofty as last time, and they get tangled in a series of less animated moments that sink the album into a Gothy bog. Cold Velvet is plenty classy, but it isn’t bashy enough for its own good. This gives me the sadz in the wrong way. Still worth a listen.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: thenighteternal.bandcamp.com | thenighteternal.com | instagram.com/thenighteternal_official
Releases Worldwide: August 21st, 2026

Morax – The Amulet Review

By Steel Druhm

Way back in 2019 we reviewed the Norwegian thrash act Inculter and lavished much praise upon their Fatal Visions album. We then somehow slept on 2023s Morbid Origin completely because mistakes were made. Now we get the solo project by Inculter guitarist/vocalist Remi Andrè Nygård and it’s an altered beast of a different color. Rather than another crazy thrash attack, Morax is Remi’s one-man, do-it-all-yourself vehicle for exploring his love of classic 80s heavy metal sounds. In particular, that sweet spot where Mercyful Fate rubbed up on NWoBHM and style. Throughout The Amulet you’ll be transported back to 1983-84 and reminded of a variety of early metal acts, but it’s those Fate albums that get the bulk of the hat tips as gloriously catchy old-timey riffs fly left and right. With these caveats, you should know what to expect here. Riffs, and MOAR riffs, all from the golden age of metal.

After a very table setting, 80s-centric intro piece, the real fun begins on “Belial Rising” which is 5-plus minutes of 80s-soaked guitar heroics forced together into an epic song. The riffs here are aces, with one sharp, hooky lead after another as Remi threads the needle between various 80s acts with a rowdy, raucous Mötörhead-adjacent energy bouncing off classy, smooth NWoBHM leads and solos that reek of Satan. It’s a wild ride with so many cool, vintage guitar moments that it’s impossible not to enjoy for seasoned geezers like me. The segment from 3:17 to the end is easily my favorite piece of music this year and it keeps me coming back for more. “A Thousand Names” is also first-rate, full of badass riffs and harmonies as Remi warbles and raves as best he can. You could easily imagine this coming out in the early 80s and it comes from a sincere love for the time period.

Unfortunately, the songcraft is a bit inconsistent as The Amulet plays out. There are a ton of good ideas and slick, memorable Mercyful Fate-esque moments in the 8 minutes of “Seven Pierced Hearts” but it definitely runs too long. Cuts like “The Snake” and “Phantom Sleeper” are good with great moments but can’t rise to the level of the album’s first few cuts. Things improve for the epic denouement “The Descent” which feels like a flight through the In Solitude and The Night Eternal catalogs (i.e. new takes on Mercyful Fate’s classic style). If the writing was just a little more consistently strong, this thing would be a contestant on Steel‘s Best of 2025 Hunger Games Elimination Derby. As it stands, it’s an enjoyable nostalgia bomb with several totally killer tracks. At a concise 40 minutes, The Amulet plays out briskly, with only “Seven Pierced Hearts” bogging things down slightly. Remi’s production is 100% authentic to the era it’s inspired by, and he couldn’t have made it sound any more like a product of the past short of releasing it on 8-track.

Remi handles everything here, from guitars to bass to drums, and does a pretty damn impressive job. His guitar work is the star, of course, and he shows himself to be a true lover of 80s metal, crafting so many smoking riffs I can imagine rocking out to in my bedroom back in 83-84. This is one of those albums worth hearing for the riffs alone, even if they don’t always translate into great songs. He does a lot to invoke the Sherman/Denner dynasty of amazing dual axe warfare but incorporates enough outside influences to keep things a little unpredictable. His vocals are raw and unpolished but mostly get the job done, though he’s limited in his range and ability. He almost sounds like a mix of Brian Ross of Satan / Blitzkrieg and Schmier of Destruction which is a unique spot to land in.

As a veteran of the 80s metal wars, I can’t resist albums like this and I had to fight my worser angels who wanted me to overrate The Amulet just because it was so damn vintage. There are some very good to almost great moments here, but the overall package is just shy of a higher mark. I’ll be returning to this in the future though and those high moments make it a rewarding spin. Morax is onto something cool and I hope this isn’t a one-and-done for Remi. If you want to marinate in the sounds of the past and attend a few dangerous meetings, Morax has the Melissa biscuits you need.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: High Roller
Websites: morax.bandcamp.com/album/the-amulet | facebook.com/morax6669 | instagram.com/moraxmoraxmorax
Releases Worldwide: February 21st, 2025

#2025 #30 #Feb25 #HeavyMetal #HighRollerRecords #InSolitude #Inculter #MercyfulFate #Morax #NorweiganMetal #Review #Reviews #Satan #TheAmulet #TheNightEternal

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