Darkness Silence Mirror Flame

Nite is enjoying a moment at the time of this writing on Bandcamp, with its debut of Darkness Silence Mirror Flame being well-received. The band features Scott Hoffman from Dawnbringer on guitars and combines Iron Maiden-style NWOBHM riffs with blackened vocals: An mix done solidly but not always in interesting combinations. In fact, the lead riffing is the best part (and it's no surprise that it's the most Maiden-inspired of the band's sound). We get this treat at the beginning of almost every track, often playing along with the usually pedestrian rhythm work. The leads are uniformly excellent; the songwriting is more mixed, though The Way has some needed complexity, and Bright, a track that shares a good melody with an extra helping of lead riffing, quickly became my favorite track on here. It has to be said that the blackened vocals used are not terribly exciting, and they often seem like a gimmick when they're as overshadowed by the heavy metal influences as they are; why should Van Labrakis croak his vocals when so much of the music begs for a Dickinson-style belting-out? At best, a first-wave black metal vibe is channeled, such as on the verses of Acolytes, but most of the best moments on Darkness Silence Mirror Flame happen when the band unashamedly plays old-school NWOBHM and drop their attempts at black metal influence. Nite's debut is interesting, though flawed by occasional slow spots in songwriting. With a few excellent tracks, its fine lead riffing is the biggest draw. Bandcamp: https://nitemetal.bandcamp.com/album/darkness-silence-mirror-flame.