01. Cult of the Serpent Sun02. Skull03. Crow (Fear The Night) 04. The Mystic05. The Last Blade06. Carry On07. Tarmut08. Winds of SokarHeavy metal is necessarily mired in nostalgia. The atavistic nature of its music and culture demands it, and yet there are always new and fresh ways to express the same, cherished ideas. Purveyors of a uniquely dark and dastardly strain of old-school metal since 2018, NITE plainly have no interest in reinventing the wheel, but, over the course of two studio albums, they have established their own singular approach to honoring metal’s traditions. Both “Darkness Silence Mirror Flame” and “Voices of the Kronian Moon” reveled in gloomy, occult shadows, with boisterous, muscular tunes that drew from ’80s metal without ever being enslaved by it. On the Bay Area crew’s third album, they have stuck to the same script, but with an even more malevolent atmosphere that enshrouds their classiest set of classic metal perversions yet.Getting this kind of revisionist metal right is not easy, but NITE make it look that way. “Cult of the Serpent Sun” comprises eight songs: a remorseless cavalcade of slyly derivative riffs and barked, black-hearted vocals, with a core of sinister but triumphant melodies. Many bands have dabbled in similar waters, but seldom with this much self-assurance or creative conviction. The opening title track is an absolute monster: a filthy, fiery amalgam of classic JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and ACCEPT, but smothered in darkness and disdain, it opens the rusty gates into NITE’s world with a spiteful flourish. Next, “Skull” rattles cages like an undead SAXON on a kamikaze mission, frontman Van Labrakis’s hoarse growls providing the perfect blank-eyed counterpoint, and a thrilling instrumental / solo section that packs more surprises into a minute than seems strictly reasonable. Guitarists Labrakis and Scott Hoffman have a formidable arsenal of riff ideas, and while old-school fans may spend “Cult of the Serpent Sun” picking out the most blatant reference points, NITE’s debt to bands from 40 years ago is as attitudinal as it is musical. These are crafted, thoughtfully constructed songs, with their own gritty charisma.”Crow (Fear The Night)”, the most potent anthem on the album by far, is a glowing example of how NITE have subverted ancient codes to their owns ends. Obnoxiously catchy, and yet clearly sworn to the black, it moves forward, mid-paced and magnificent, lodging in your brain for days. At the other end of the blackened heavy metal spectrum, “The Mystic” takes a slower and more dramatic approach, with rolling waves of gloom and nefarious intrigue that conspire to stir the spirit of any committed metal acolyte, not to mention a superb, MAIDEN-esque denouement. “The Last Blade” is an uproarious, boogie metal shuffle, a heroic blend of gruff, Lemmy-like hard rock and the best, ecstatic, ’80s metal worship this side of GRAND MAGUS. “Carry On” is a pulsing, melodic metal gem, with a stripped down, unholy NWOBHM feel and a dash of DEF LEPPARD gloss; and “Tarmut” allows some doomed-out, progressive invention to filter into NITE’s myopic clangor, resulting in an unsettlingly stealthy barrage of ornate discord. The closing “Winds Of Sokar” smothers everything with twin-lead magic, wringing liters of melancholy from every chord change, and brings the curtain down with a robust, contemporary thump.NITE have a sturdy identity and vivid imaginations. “Cult of the Serpent Sun” may not be concerned with breaking the mold, but its evil spells and souped-up classicism are lethally effective. Long may the darkness prevail.[embedded content]