In Daughters of the Night, Nocturna may be redefining symphonic power metal with a grand new innovation. The intreguing aspect to Nocturna is how they utilize two two lead vocalists - the the formidable Grace Darkling and Rehn Stillnight. Both have unique voices; in the context of Noctura, they use similar vocal approaches and roles; and neither is eclipsed by the other. Much like Judas Priest’s guitarists Tipton and Downing in the 70s and 80s used to fuse their guitar attack while still maintianing their own personalities in playing, so Darkling and Stillnight in an amazing fashion both merge and separate singing duties within Nocturna.
The album Daughters of the Night contains ten tracks, but two are brief atmospheric instrumentals, so really just eight proper songs. Following the short intro atmospheric “Spectral Ruins”, the album immidiately goes for the jugular with “New Evil”. Both fast and subtly sinister – this is an characteristically power metal track reminiscent of Gamma Ray or Stratovarious in the execution, but with otherworldly singing. The main riff is very catchy without being too slick or commercial. Stillnight and Darkling trade off vocal duties at a high level, like a pair of NBA guards on a fast break. An early metal song-of-the year candidate!
“New Evil” is followed by the title track “Daughters of the Night.” This one ramps up the pace and energy even more with the guitarist showing off his chops yet still maintaining restraint in his shred. There’s a great melody line you will definitely remember, and both the bridge and chorus have the singers hitting some high notes. Lyrically this pretty standard vampire stuff, but the music and singing are eternally evil!
Things slow down a bit following with “The Sorrow Path,” a song which provides maybe the best harmony of Grace and Rehn’s voices in the chorus. The quality of the vocal delivery makes all the difference here – in the larynxes of lesser talents the effort wouldn’t hit. The chorus is restrained but still uplifting and quite beautiful.
“Sea of Fire” is bouncy and fun, with a gently rising sound, but the melody line never really landed for me and the ending is a bit anticlimactic. Yet again the singers swap verse lines effortlessly, coming together for another nice vocal harmony in the chorus. This one was a bit weak relative to some of the other tracks in my opinion, albeit still very enjoyable.
Things turn up again with “Blood of Heaven,” a track with strong anthemic quality, especially the effect provided by the intro chorus. The guitar is strummed fast and and the backing synths give proper atmophere. “In This Tragedy” is another epic song - beautifully structured and again serving as an ideal platform for the singers to display their respective gifts. Big and bombastic without too much going on. The keys seem a bit higher in the mix here and they really do the trick. This one could be cut from a Nightwish album!
Toward album end is “Darkest Days” which was one of my favorite tracks. Light and enchanting; a real iron hand in a velvet glove. The chorus could use a little work, but the verses are supurb. The guitars are heavy with the perfect balance of grit and tone – just like you’d like them. After a brief interlude instrumental the final stanza has the album ending with a bang on “The Trickster”. A potent, epic finale, this song takes the two singers’ vocal harmony to perhaps its grandest level. The singing is big, pompous, and pitch perfect!
It is a true joy to hear the reciprocation as Darkling and Stillnight work together to achieve something greater than either could achieve alone. Overall Daughters of the Night is a spectacular record with solid production and good balance of well-crafted instrumentals and orchestration but, most importantly, music that sets up the singers to execute their twin vocal attack. This album stands as a cut above most efforts in the metal genre, and one I would strongly recommend to any metal fan.