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Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews

Mothernight MotherNight Review by Greg Olma MotherNight is a 4 piece out of Poland. Poland has its share of metal music but it just doesn’t seem to make it onto the international scene. When I heard MotherNight was from the land of my ancestors, I just had to see what was going on there now. I can’t say that I was surprised at what they had to offer as far as sound; but I did find the release aggressive but with the right amount of catchy hooks. The band takes a mixture of the different styles out there ranging from metal to Goth and have made a good album in the process. Although it may not be the most original sound, they play it with conviction. Each member knows their part and gives the others space to show their stuff. Gabriel and Berith lay down a solid rhythm for Deimos to put his modern guitar sound over. The icing on the cake is Freya who thank god has decided to sing in a natural way instead of the Angela Gossow growl (Arch Enemy). She does throw in some aggression in her delivery but for the most part, it reminds me of Amy Lee (Evanesance) or at least her style of singing. I read online that they produced this disc themselves and even there they did a really nice job. The sound is clean but not clinical which for a metal record is key. If Locomotive Records keeps putting out quality releases like this, then they will be the kind of label that you will just get their releases without hearing them first; sort of like Shrapnel and Combat were in the 80’s and early 90’s. MotherNight is definitely a worthy addition to their roster. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2007 Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

My Pain The album starts off with some heavy Black Sabbath style riffing that moves into a plodding rocker. Freya does a nice job vocally, keeping the song moody but powerful.

Someone to Feed On This tune is very similar to the first track except the guitar work has more of a modern sound. Both are plodding rockers with a very similar song structure.

Another Chance? Things change up on this cut with some nice acoustic guitar work. It builds up to become a cool rocker with many parts. Even though Deimos puts in some heavy riffing in this tune, the acoustic guitar can be heard throughout. Towards the end, he even throws in a little middle eastern flavor making this one of the better and more interesting songs on the disc.

Illumination We come back to the original sound started on the first two tracks. It’s well played and there is nothing wrong with it except that it is very similar to the other tracks.

Shadowsblack On this, the longest track on the CD, the band put forth an epic sounding moody cut. It starts off very soft and kind of eerie and before you know it, it kicks in and rocks out. Then it goes back to where it started. Along with “Another Chance”, the band really excels when they go out of the box a little and create something with more power and conviction.

Resurrect Me Here is another example of MotherNight throwing us something different and really making it work. This acoustic cut has a mystic/middle eastern sound to it. It also contains a flute solo. In my opinion, they get extra points for being brave enough throw in an instrument that is not typically metal.

Waiting to Die This tune has more of a modern metal sound. Freya puts in a really good performance on this one.

Don't Wanna Listen Of all of the tracks on offer here, this one is catchiest and most hook driven. They put some effects on Freya’s vocals and it adds something new to the record. This tune is probably the most straight forward one on the CD also.

Infect Your Soul The riff at the beginning could have come off of Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality. It has a great groove and if we all didn’t know the Sabbath catalogue so well, we could be forgiven in thinking that this is a Black Sabbath cover.

Hunger A lot of metal music is not really headphone music but this piece has so much going on that it was almost made for them. I listened to it through speakers and then through headphones and you really pick up some new things with the headphones on. There are many different parts to this tune and it has that epic feel similar to “Shadowsblack”.

The Dawn This short little acoustic track is a nice way to end the album. Even though the CD did not start like that, it somehow makes sense to have it end like this.

Hello (Bonus Track) I hate it when they play games with bonus songs. This track is 19 minutes long but the actual music doesn’t kick in until after 15 minutes. It is just silent up until then. You may think that the CD is over but then starts 15 minutes later scaring the crap out of you. Anyway, onto the song; this is a cover of Shakespear’s Sisters’ tune “Hello” (the internet is a wonder place for information like this). I can see why this was not on the original record because it just doesn’t fit. It’s good, almost pop rock, but compared to the other stuff on offer here, this is the odd man out.

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