{"id":49347,"date":"2015-05-17T09:30:03","date_gmt":"2015-05-17T14:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=49347"},"modified":"2015-05-17T09:30:03","modified_gmt":"2015-05-17T14:30:03","slug":"nightingale-retribution-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/nightingale-retribution-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Nightingale | Retribution<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Nightingale\"After seven long years, we finally saw the return of Dan Swano\u2019s Nightingale at the end of 2014. Retribution<\/em> is the title of the new album, the band\u2019s seventh release to date, and the first we\u2019ve seen since 2007\u2019s White Darkness<\/em>. Of course, Swano hasn\u2019t exactly been idle in Nightingale\u2019s absence, introducing us in recent years to his excellent new Witherscape project. Still, Nightingale has such a unique and memorable identity that fans definitely felt its absence.<\/p>\n

While there were moments on the Witherscape<\/em> debut that brought to mind Nightingale, as soon as Retribution starts spinning you know you\u2019re getting the real thing. It\u2019s that unique combination of late \u201870s Prog (think Rush and especially Uriah Heep) with \u201880s rock melodies and this chilling, almost Gothic atmosphere that no other band has. That and the way that atmosphere seems to carry on so seamlessly across every new Nightingale release. That\u2019s thanks in large part to Dan Swano\u2019s keyboard work, though his dramatic vocal delivery also helps define the music.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to tell if the \u201cBreathing Shadow\u201d storyline from previous Nightingale albums is carried over on Retribution<\/em>, but there\u2019s a decidedly epic and fantasy-based (not in a swords and dragons Power Metal sense) approach to the lyrics. It gives songs like \u201cLucifer\u2019s Lament,\u201d \u201cWarriors of the Dawn\u201d and \u201cThe Voyage of Endurance\u201d a sense of grandeur.<\/p>\n

Beyond the unique atmosphere and interesting lyrical content, it\u2019s the captivating melodies and sheer quality of the music that initially grabs (and keeps) your attention. That\u2019s true of all Nightingale albums, and Retribution<\/em> is no exception. The only difference is that Retribution seems a bit more somber in tone than the previous albums, even having some Katatonia-esque moments.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that despite the long absence Swano and company clearly haven\u2019t lost that Nightingale character and magic. Retribution<\/em> will more than satisfy fans of the previous Nightingale albums, even if it might take a few spins to really sink in. It\u2019s also a memorable enough release to win over new fans to the band, especially those who like to see the lines between progressive metal and melodic rock blurred.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Rock, Progressive Metal<\/p>\n

Lineup:
\nDan Swano (v) (g) (k)
\nDag Swano (g) (k)
\nErik Oskarsson (b)
\nTom Bjorn (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tOn Stolen Wings
\n2.\tLucifer\u2019s Lament
\n3.\tChasing the Storm Away
\n4.\tWarriors of the Dawn
\n5.\tForevermore
\n6.\tDivided I Fall
\n7.\tThe Voyage of Endurance
\n8.\t27 (Curse or Coincidence)
\n9.\tThe Maze
\n10.\tEchoes of a Dream<\/p>\n

Label: InsideOut Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.facebook.com\/nightingalesweden<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8.75\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor — After seven long years, we finally saw the return of Dan Swano\u2019s Nightingale at the end of 2014. Retribution is the title of the new album, the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":49349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12394],"tags":[2317,11230,11231,2901,11229,1098,9317],"class_list":{"0":"post-49347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2015","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-dan-swano","10":"tag-insideout-records","11":"tag-melodic-rock","12":"tag-nightingale","13":"tag-progressive-metal","14":"tag-retribution"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}