Falling Asleep to NightWraith’s "Divergence"
“…the good is held back by the lethargic…”
Ooof, that’s not a good title for this review. Kinda sets your expectations early, eh? Well, in that case I won’t keep you long. NightWraith is an MDM band from Denver, Colorado in the good ‘ole U-S-of-A. Their whole thing is about giving the listener something new to listen to that isn’t constrained within the borders of their own genre (which is ironically the most “blend with the crowd” statement I keep reading nowadays) and writes music and lyrics that take a journey into the world of being a human. If I seem cynical, it’s because I am. I feel like my time as a critic of over 8 years has made me jaded to the various ways bands try to sell themselves to us - the audience - and how they’re oh-so different from the other guy.
And as I have come to find out listening to their new album Divergence… it’s about as real as my sex-life in high school.
Okay, so that’s a tad bit of a stretch. For one, it’s not a flex kinda album. The musicians don’t seem to try and show off their talents and skills. The writing is very generic and template, giving us the classic verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure. The composition focuses less on showing off and shredding and more on actually writing a song, which I really enjoy. And they’re not bad songs either. Compositionally speaking, the songs on Divergence are pretty good. Not amazing, but I found myself bobbing my head from time to time.
Even then, they actually put more effort into layers and sonic textures. NightWraith have the standard metal set-up: a shouty boy in the front, two string-addicts, a low chunky bass-boy and a guy behind a kit who’s not aloud to play while the others are tuning even when they’re not. However, the songs are coated in different synth layers to add more to the mix, and as well as some cool percussion choices to add flavour. Cowbells, shakers and the like. Hearing that cowbell on “Whispers of Dragonflies” was such a great change of pace. Despite not being the most “metal” instruments (even though a cowbell is literally a metal instrument), these sorts of oddball choices add identity to the sound in a way that guitars, bass, drums, and a walking soar throat just can’t.
So okay, the songs are written well, and they have cool sonic texturing as well… why the title? It’s all in the production itself. The mix is done decently well, that’s Zack Ohren’s (Machine Head, Immolation) mixing and mastering, everything feels layered well. But this is definitely not his best work. The pulled back moments feel about as level as the big moments with no dynamic distinction. The heavier moments are so pulled back as to be down the hall.
I don’t believe that’s entirely Zack’s fault though. This production has the halmarks of weak production in the studio itself. The guitar tones feel so muted as to be unplugged. The bass can barely be felt, let alone heard. And the drummer feels like he’s partly hung-over with how hard he’s NOT hitting the drums during the big rock moments.
Speaking of catatonic, those vocals… I’m sorry, but can we please get Benjamin Pitts some 2 dozen espresso shots before he gets behind the mic? I sear at some point towards the end of the album I can hear him practically snoring through his harsh vocal lines! His vocals are putting ME to sleep, and I regularly inject a large timmie’s black coffee into my veins as a morning ritual. I feel like the only one who’s doing a decent job is Caleb Jose Tardio behind the keys. His synth choices are nice and add a great atmosphere to the rest of the Ambien commercial.
Okay, maybe I’m being a bit too harsh. Again, the composition is good, and there are some good talented individuals on this album, including in the guest spots. And despite the weak production, the mixing is well done and sounds like some top quality stuff! But overall, the good is held back by the lethargic. The amazing is made to feel weary and hungover. All the effort that was put into writing some genuinely good music with great ideas for tone colour and textures is overshadowed by the sleep paralysis demon.
It’s not a bad album, but if you plan to venture into the sonic journey NightWraith has given you, please note that the Divergence journey has no coffee included.
9/15
… because my 30 minute nap has turned into 9 hours and I have no idea where I am. Send help!
Tracklist:
Fruitless
Perpetual Night
One Flower
Whispers of Dragonflies
Invocation
Fallen Kings and Queens
Nothing Left to Lose
Divergence
Us and Them (bonus Pink Floyd cover)
NightWraith is:
Benjamin Pitts: vocals/guitar
Isidro ‘Spy’ Soto: drums
Igor Panasewicz: guitar
Caleb Jose Tardio: keyboards/synthesizer
Jacob St. Amand: bass
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