Born from a vision by guitarist and songwriter Rex Zeco, Belgium’s Nightqueen have been in existence since 2004 but by their own admission the early years were tough, with personnel changes a plenty hampering any proper development musically. Once stability had been found the band forged ahead with writing material culminating in this very impressive debut.
‘For Queen And Metal’ oozes power at a level that many other bands only attain after many albums under their belts, superbly fronted by female vocalist Keely Larreina who’s vocals whilst not particularly in the Operatic vein carry each track with thunderous force more akin to Veronica Freeman (Benedictum) in style. The 80’s tinged Power Metal riffs burn a hole in the speakers whilst the keyboards add a classic Gothic/Symphonic vibe.
Lyrically the album is quite diverse in themes, from the nocturnal tones of the high tempo ’Nightfall’ to the thought provoking War/Terror montage intro of album closer ’Dark Fairy’, the band have been very clever in creating a collection of songs that all stand proud on there own but all fit together under the Nightqueen umbrella.
An excellent debut by a band with obvious talent and class.
Bow down before the Nightqueen.
Rating 8/10.
Nightqueen are –
Keely Larreina – Vocals.
Rex Zeco – Guitar, Backing Vocals and Spoken Word.
Alan Rawson – Guitar and Backing Vocals.
Steven Steele – Bass and Backing Vocals.
Daniel Kells – Keyboards and Backing Vocals.
William Blodyn – Drums.
Track Listing –
1. Into The Night.
2. Nightfall.
3. Mystical Night.
4. For Queen And Metal.
5. Lady Fantasy.
6. Nocturnal Thoughts.
7. Secret Of The Blind Man.
8. Majesty.
9. Rebel To Rebel.
10. Screaming For Mercy.
11. Dark Fairy.
Out now via www.massacre-records.com