NIGHTMARE - The Dominion Gate

NIGHTMARE
The Dominion Gate
Candlelight USA
7/10





Nightmare has been producing metal for over two decades now and it can be said that the French group has found a niche over the years. Progressive and power metal-minded metalheads often sing praises of the band’s previous works, but “The Dominion Gate” is doubtlessly the group’s best sounding production to date. The band has stepped up their songwriting since “Silent Room”, which was released by Napalm Records in 2003. Musically, the songs which grace “The Dominion Gate” are ultimately much more articulate and well thought out than Nightmare’s older works. Additionally, the record enjoys the benefit of quality production, the knob turning here being light years beyond the band’s former releases. Each of these aspects add up to an impressive foray into sonic fear, highlighted by a sometimes-disturbing, dark psychology.

Joe Amore’s pipes sound greatly improved as well, possessing a newfound strength that was noticeably absent on the last album. All though the singer’s performance still sounds distinctly European, he is much more convincing, especially on tracks like “ A Taste Of Armageddon” and in particularly on the eerie cut “The Dressmaker.” It is this song that best illustrates the band’s ability for creating textured, dramatic sequences and by all rights, this should be considered to be one of the definite highlights of the record. New guitarist Franck Milleliri makes his mark upon the band’s sound as well, his contributions providing the band’s music with a thicker tone than we’ve heard in the past. The bottom line is that his addition can be pointed to as one of a positive improvement.

An album that is easily the heaviest, most well put together output of the band’s career, “The Dominion Gate” finds Nightmare to be at long last, moving their way up through the power metal pack.

Written By: Digital VonNerdly