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Nightingale - Retribution review



Reviewer:
N/A

157 users:
8.22
Band: Nightingale
Album: Retribution
Release date: November 2014


01. On Stolen Wings
02. Lucifer's Lament
03. Chasing The Storm Away
04. Warriors Of The Dawn
05. Forevermore
06. Divided I Fall
07. The Voyage Of Endurance
08. 27 (Curse Or Coincidence?)
09. The Maze
10. Echoes Of A Dream

A new Nightingale album has taken a long time to see daylight. To me it's at least 3-4 years overdue. Ever since Swanö hinted at it being in the works I've been impatiently waiting for a release date. As days, weeks, months and years went by, I started filing the scarce news of its progress under speculative fiction and fantasy. I was slowly starting to think of it as a vapourtune.

Now that the album is here, I'm confused. By all rights I should be happy as a clam. Retribution is as much a Nightingale album as any previous one; the sound and the atmosphere of the album stays true to the course set in the past. It's still the melodic hard rock that makes use of the keyboards and synth ambience quite a bit. Most importantly, though, it's Dan's voice that I've been partial to since the moment I first heard him sing. So, it's all still there. And yet, I'm not enjoying it as much as I should.

Which is weird because, apart from the fact that waiting for it has worn the album thin before I even heard it, Retribution is probably the most solid Nightingale release to date. A case of waiting too long blew out the glistening spark for me and has made me literally work through the album and what it has hidden inside. I feel like I have to explain to myself step by step why this album is good, just to counter that one non-issue I have with it.

To pretend this album is original is something akin to cheating on a child. So, let's just say there aren't any real musical surprises. Although, that's not entirely true. I think I was most amused by the beginnings of "Chasing the Storm Away" that reminded me of some Dire Straits tune. It's still a good song, though. So, while there aren't any real surprises, there aren't any visible flaws and stitches to it either. A long time in the making has allowed the team to polish this album well.

The strongest quality of Retribution actually lies in the lyrics. The stories the band tell and the topics they ponder through the means of the songs are worth thinking along. For this band the lyrics are not just idle words but a part of the solid, thought-provoking whole. It makes the album complete in about every way imaginable. If only I could now find a way to really enjoy it as much as it deserves...





Written on 16.12.2014 by I shoot people.

Sometimes, I also write about it.

And one day I'm going to start a band. We're going to be playing pun-rock.


Comments

Comments: 8   Visited by: 191 users
16.12.2014 - 12:57
BloodTears
ANA-thema
I agree with you in a way. I like the album, but I feel like it could've been better. Many people seem to love it, but the feeling of "nothing new" puts me off a little bit.

I enjoyed it but I probably won't be listening to it a lot. It just doesn't have enough elements to keep me interested despite being good.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29

Like you could kiss my ass.


My Instagram
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16.12.2014 - 16:44
MetalManic

Same. It's truly vexing.
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16.12.2014 - 17:41
Rating: 9
X-FrEaK

I am a huge Dan Swanö fan and I really like this album... I kind of understand the "been there done that" reviews above...but hey... Amon Amarth are still there so... I really prefer a new "more of the same" from Nigthingale given that this one took 7 years to be released than to listen to the same thing from AA on the last albums...
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16.12.2014 - 19:11
Frodd
Account deleted
Well, it is his neatest album since Crimson II.
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16.12.2014 - 20:14
Rating: 9
knightlightning

I'm lucky... I'm enjoying it a lot. For me is the best of them because it's strong in all the facets but... hey! you know what? opinions are like asses, everyone has one, so...
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16.12.2014 - 21:22
Rating: 6
K✞ulu
Seeker of Truth
Well, I was utterly disappointed because I was expecting progressive metal as Nightingale's genre is stated on Metal Storm, but which it is not. Repated listens had me like it more and then like it less. My final conclusion is this album simply does not offer anything challenging to this fan of prog, even though it has quite a few moments of beautiful songwriting, which would be actually enough to compensate for the lack of creativity, but they are far to scarce.
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Savor what you feel and what you see
Things that may not seem important now
But may be tomorrow

R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner

Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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17.12.2014 - 10:21
JohnDoe
Account deleted
I liked it a lot, it delivered just what I was expecting, the same old Nightingale. If it ain't broken, why fix it?
The music flows nicely, no fillers, a very enjoyable listen for me.
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18.12.2014 - 10:05
Rating: 9
qnick90

Dan Swanö actually said, that this album is meant to be "the best of" album without reusing the riffs, only the patterns, which explains why it doesnt sound fresh. I think he managed to get the job well done.
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