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Hmm...must be something in the Swedish drinking water that gives these devastating (and uniquely Scandinavian) riffs such heft. It helps that Nightrage is a top-shelf supergroup assembled by former Exhumation guitarist Marios Iliopoulos, who recruited guitarist Gus G. (Dream Evil), drummer Per M. Jensen (the Haunted), lead rawthroat and perennial guest vocalist Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, the Great Deceiver, Crown, Lock Up, etc.), and clean-pipes singer Tom S. Englund (Evergrey) for the outfit's debut record. And while such highly touted collaborations tend to sound like spontaneous fits of mediocre inspiration (see Passenger and Dimension Zero), Sweet Vengeance is consistently excellent in both song and performance. Arrangements are lean but not overly simplistic ("Macabre Apparition," "The Tremor") and the occasional trading-off of Englund's soaring clean vocal with Lindberg's distinct howl during "Hero" and "Ethereal" lends a compelling contrast to the songs (even if the idea, limited to four tracks, is under-used). Sonically, Sweet Vengeance is a rich mix of golden-era Swedish death metal (main reference points: At the Gates and In Flames) and the classier elements of Bay Area thrash occasionally peppered with a black metal blastbeat. Most impressive are "The Glow of the Setting Sun" and its groovy, mid-tempo-to-double-time rhythmic pummel bookended by shimmering and melodic clean guitar arpeggios; "At the Ends of the Earth," which sounds like a beefier, deathlier Megadeth (circa Rust in Peace); and "Circle of Pain," which smartly exploits a heart-stopping quiet-loud dynamic. One beef is the production from Swedish death metal hit factory Studio Fredman, which, although offering a typically senses-battering drum sound, doesn't help differentiate Sweet Vengeance from the glut of bands utilizing Fredrik Nordström's production skills. Still, any fan of the melodic European death metal scene should foam at the mouth upon hearing Nightrage's debut -- even if the stellar lineup was put together for recording purposes only -- and such Pavlovian responses are, for the most part, justified. ~ John Serba
2003 debut from Sweden's newest Death Metal sensation! Features Tomas Lindberg (ex-At The Gates), Marios Llipoulos (ex-Exhumation), Gus G. (Dream Evil) and Per M. Jensen (The Haunted). Century Media.
Audio Mixer: Fredrik Nordström .
Editor: Snowy Shaw.
Photographer: Snowy Shaw.
Arrangers: Fredrik Nordström ; Patrik J. Sten.
Nightrage: Tomas Lindberg (vocals); Marios Illipoulos, Gus G. (guitar); Per M. Jensen (drums).
Personnel: Tom Englund, Tomas Lindberg (vocals); Marios Iliopoulos (guitar, acoustic guitar); Gus G. (guitar); Fredrik Nordström (keyboards); Per M. Jensen (drums).
Nightrage - Sweet Vengeance Songs
Sweet Vengeance Music Review
Average Rating: (4.7 out of 5 stars)    I'm gonna start breaking shtuff!
Another swedish melodic death metal masterpiece for listening pleasure. This album is practically flawless. With the swedish melo-death god himself, Tomas "Tompa" Lindberg lending his harsh vocals to the fold of Nightrage, they play the basic formula but they add different elements that make it an interesting listen. Tom Englund of evergrey lends his beautiful voice for clean passages and the rest of the band(whom im not sure of) play blazing melo-death metal until their limbs are broken. A must for fans of At the Gates, old-Soilwork, Darkest Hour, The Haunted, so on and so forth...God has spoken/\m/
Submitted by Incarnate (Indiana, Pa, USA)
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Swedish Melodic Death Metal
Very glad I bought this cd...Awesome melodic thrash/ death/ melodic metal with some clean vocals courtesy of Evergray vocalist. Features Thomas Lindberg(At The Gates) on Vocals and Gus G(Dream Evil) on guitars. The cd is on the line of In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and some thrash moments ala The Haunted and At The Gates...A must for any fan of this genre...
Submitted by Luis (Miami)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  Great Swedish Metal
This is a great album, the Swedish know how to belt out a hell of a noise and yet keep the melodic elements. Seen the Haunted and Entombed live lately, also great!
Submitted by theshushapipe (Durban, SA)
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