Time Signature Nothing will remain...

Genre: crust-doom-metal

Nightshock is an Italian metal trio whose style of music is described as 'speed doom'. This label struck me as a bit of an oxymoron, but it also intrigued me a bit, so I decided to check out their eponymous self-titled album.

And I immediately understood what was meant by 'speed doom'. After an ominous and doom-laden intro in the form of 'Into the Night (Off to War)', all hell breaks lose in the form of the Motörhead- and Discharge-inspired crusty d-beat attack "Nightshock". 'Roots of the End (Total Fucking Death)' similarly juxtaposes crusty d-beats with doom metal passages, adding some traditional heavy metal sensibility into the mix. The same approach is heard in 'Nothing Will Remain'. A few tracks on the album are crunchy mid-tempo affairs, such as 'Black Demise', 'Cemeterial City', and 'Funeral Train'. And I must say, what sounds ridiculous on paper (i.e. 'speed doom') actually works incredibly well in practice! Kudos to Nightshock!

The production is not polished, but still pretty professional and makes the songs on the album just a bit more enjoyable to listen to. Musically, the strengths of this album are the riffs and the band's successful blend of various genres as well as the songwriting skills demonstrated on the album: all songs are solid and well written with no whistles and bells. Some might complain that, with a playing time of 30 minutes, the album is too short, but I think tat the brevity actually fits the d-beat-based high-octane energy level of the album very well.

Nightshock strike a nice balance between crusty d-beats, speed metal, thrash metal, and traditional heavy metal and doom metal as well. The songs on this album are dynamic and energetic and, while the music is not complex or anything like that, it is still varied. Fans of the likes of Children of Technology, Hellhammer, Carnivore, Motörhead, and Discharge are likely to enjoy Nightshock's debut.