(suggested track listening: ”Domestication of Wildness”, ”Immaculate / Enslaved by Need”)
Nightfall’s debut album Parade into Centuries (1992) was, in many ways, a landmark release. It was arguably the earliest full-length album issued by a Greek black/death metal band (sole contender being Death Courier’s Demise LP) as well as the inaugural release on France’s Holy Records – home to acts such as Septic Flesh, Elend and Supuration/S.U.P. Moreover, Parade into Centuries was one of the founding documents for the Greek branch of dark/atmospheric metal – a composite style that grew out of the domestic death metal scene and successively incorporated elements from other fields of metal music and beyond.
Unlike many contemporaries of the Hellenic scene, Nightfall did not record at the legendary Molon Lave Studios (later Storm Studios) for their debut album. Instead, they settled for another of prominent, although today lesser-known Athenian recording facility: Praxis Studio. A wise choice in this particular case. Not that there was anything wrong with the sonically distinct sound emanating from Molon Lave, but the spacious, organic and timbrally balanced production courtesy of Praxis Studio was definitely more compatible with what Nightfall aimed for at the time.
Stylistically, the band aligns itself with the contemporary dark metal idiom – building on a fundament of death-, doom- and black metal, further complemented by elements most commonly associated with older forms of heavy- and thrash metal. The rhythm guitar work, for example, suggest a wide array of influences (Hellenic black metal, early Samael, Teutonic thrash, classic doom à la Candlemass, the UK death-doom scene, among others). Perhaps most ear-catching on initial listens though is the prominent presence of a loose, jazz-tinged bass guitar – not a common feature in this kind of music. The attentive listener might even take notice of a subtle, quasi-folk vibe permeating the melodic syntax. Such a versatile approach could’ve easily devolved into a mishmash of arbitrary gesturing, but here it somehow works to the music’s favor.
Taking into consideration that Nightfall, as a band, had only existed for roughly a year prior to releasing Parade into Centuries, the album is a surprisingly mature and well-integrated effort. The key to understanding the album stems from Nightfall’s ability to channel each constituent part into a cohesive whole, marinated in a nocturnal, archaeo-Mediterranean ambience. In contrast to many black metal releases, who end up focusing on atmosphere at the expense of songwriting, Parade into Centuries brings the scenery to actual life and maintains suspension of belief through a keen sense of ebb-and-flow pacing – both on a track-by-track and album level. An immersive listen by all accounts and highly recommended to anyone with a liking for early Septic Flesh.
Nightfall would of course go on and release numerous albums throughout the years, first gravitating towards a more black metal-centered sound on respectable releases such as ”Macabre Sunsets” (1993) and ”Athenian Echoes” (1995), before giving in to the commercial lure of gothic rock around the turn of the millennium. As far as creative vision goes though, a good case can be made on the notion that the band peaked early in their career.
