Review: Nightblaze – Nightblaze

Art Of Melody Music/Burning Minds Music Group (March 22^nd 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

The Italian based band Nightblaze is the brainchild of composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Dario Grillo, who handles guitars and keyboards in the band. Starting in 2021, he pulled together a bunch of musicians who also shared his vision of creating a solid and updated sound with deep 80s melodic rock influences. While it breaks no new ground, there are some terrific tracks on display here, with songs similar to contemporaries like Creye, Brother Firetribe, and Nitrate.

It can be difficult to review an album like this as there is not much of a deviation from track to track, but do not mistake that to mean it is boring. Every song is quality! I’ll start with the ones that had the most resonating choruses, as that is the clincher for me when it comes to rating song.

There’s three in a row that hit me hard. ‘You’re Gone’ has some excellent melody changes. It starts out with a strong, fast melody before retracting to a quieter verse. It builds in tempo in the bridge and then explodes with its chorus. It checks all the boxes:  Harmonies, higher key changes, the keyboards leading the way while the rest of the band supports. Everything I would want in an effective chorus.

If you know the Brother Firetribe track ‘Valerie’, then ‘Diana’ is the sister track. An up-tempo rocker with a combination of elegance and electricity. A feel-good track that clicks all the right buttons.

Finally, there’s recent single ‘Tell Me’, which continues the high energy of the album. While the verse and bridge are melodies heard before, the song pops with a choral melody that is outstanding. This feels like a track that could have appeared on Toto’s Isolation album.

While all the songs are catchy and have lots of energy, a little variation in the rhythm would have been appreciated. Most of the tracks have a similar time signature, with the exception of last track ‘Daughter’, a beautiful, piano-based ballad about a father writing a letter to his daughter just before he passes. It sounds depressing but lead singer Damiano Libianchi injects it with a sense of optimism and the need to go on with life.

While I consider Tracks 3-5 to be the strongest part of the album, all the songs here are consistently good from track to track. It’s high energy, melodic rock done with a passion and drive that is sure to please fans of the genre. The singles are very representative of the album overall so if you like those, then the rest of the album is sure to please you. Would love to see what the future holds for this band. A truly talented bunch.

Tracklist:

1. Sudden Blast
2. Take on Me
3. You’re Gone
4. Diana
5. Tell Me
6. Hold on to Me
7. Carry On
8. Fading Away
9. Fragments of Time
10. Daughter