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| NOCTURNAL RITES |
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| INFO |
HOMETOWN: Sweden
MEMBERS:
Jonny Lindkvist (vocals),
Fredrik Mannberg (guitar),
Nils Norberg (guitar),
Nils Eriksson (bass),
Owe Lingvall (drums),
Mattias Bernhardsson (keyboards)
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| BIOGRAPHY |
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Blending melodic metal and powerful hard rock, with a deadly progressive thread, Sweden’s NOCTURNAL RITES crown their 10 years together with Grand Illusion. Driven by thundering double-bass drums, authoritative vocal lines, and gracefully fluid rhythm and solo duel guitar work, the album captivates as well as commands.
Joining for 2000’s Afterlife, Jonny Lindqvist’s extraordinary voice moved NOCTURNAL RITES into realms untraveled, launching the band on multiple tours across Europe and Japan with Nightwish, Gamma Ray, Nevermore, Overkill, Hammerfall and more. By performing at every major European Metal festival (Dynamo, Wacken Open Air, Sweden Rock, etc), NOCTURNAL RITES have continued the strong and triumphant tradition of fellow hometown (Umeå, Sweden) genre defining metal acts Meshuggah, Naglfar, and Refused.
Honing their metal machine, NOCTURNAL RITES returned to Toontrack Studio in Umeå, Sweden to record and mix Grand Illusion. “Fools Never Die,” the pounding opening song, captures heavy metal’s timeless spirit. Fist-pumping and chorus-chanting continue into “Never Trust” where vocal harmonies and double bass shift the album into high gear. Unstoppable momentum propels them through the scorching solos and compelling choruses of “Still Alive.” Mid-tempo songs like “Something Undefined” attain an arena rock-like, Whitesnake-esque groove without breaking metal’s integral bonds. Double bass fury opens “Our Wasted Days” with unrelenting urgency, and unfaltering drum work carries the song’s indefatigable intensity through Lindqvist’s professing, “I am God.”
Joining the band on this extraordinary journey are some of metal’s most prominent artists, including guitarist Stefan Elmgren (Hammerfall), keyboardist Jens Johansson (Stratovarius), guitarist Henrick Danhage (Evergrey), and vocalist Kristoffer W. Olivius (Naglfar). Swedish world champion cross-country skier Per Elofsson (three-time World Cup gold) also appears, displaying his whammy bar action on “Never Trust.” Providing Grand Illusion’s glorious cover art is distinguished artist Axel Hermann (Dream Evil, In Flames). The finished domestic version of Grand Illusion will contain bonus CD-ROM enhancements with the “Fools Never Die” video, directed by drummer Owe Lingvall, and footage from the video and album’s making.
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