01. Temple Of Acheron
02. Divine Nemesis
03. The Passenger
04. Downfall Of A Tyrant
05. Crystal Lake
06. Lights On
07. Aeternam
08. Under The Ice
09. Black September
10. Anneliese
Nightmare, the French band, not the Japanese band with the same name, has been around in one form or another since 1979. They have had many line-ups over the years, with the only constant being bassist Yves Campion, and have developed from classic Heavy Metal to more of a Power Metal sound over the years.
Anyway, Nightmare are back with a brand-new singer, Madie, and this new album, Aeternam. I've not paid much attention to them before, having just heard a handful of songs, so can't fairly compare this record and line-up to what went before. In a way, that's a relief as I get to soak this up with relatively fresh ears and no preconceptions.
The title track, Aeternam, is absolutely killer. It walks the line between Thrash and more traditional Heavy Metal. Madie's voice is absolutely incredible, demonstrating a warmth and power that really lifts that chorus, making it a thoroughly infectious masterpiece. This was the first song I heard from the album after stumbling across it on YouTube, and I pre-ordered a CD straight away, which shows you how impressed I was.
The whole record is on-point. The writing, performance, and production are all top-level. There are no weak moments, just powerful slabs of Heavy Metal. There are Horror themes and movies throughout the lyrics which naturally appealed to me a lot. My favourite tracks, aside from Aeternam, are Divine Nemesis, the Freddy Krueger inspired Lights On, and the exorcism-tastic Anneliese.
When it comes to melodic, in-your-face, Heavy Metal, Nightmare have undeniably delivered the goods. Aeternam is a brilliant album from start-to-finish and one of the finest releases of 2020.
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