First off, let me say that both "Afterlife" and "Shadowland" blow the new CD "New World Messiah" away. I was eagerly anticipating the new release and now am very disappointed. The great thing about both "Afterlife" and "Shadowland" was the heavier sound and less on the keyboards. With "New World Messiah", the keyboards are back and the guitars are much less heavy. I, like the reviewer from Mass., kept looking for the killer song to come and one never came. Don't get me wrong, it's an okay CD. But the atmospheric sound gets repetitive and annoying quite quickly. The singer's voice is the best part of the CD. He sounds great.

Unfortunately, this record sounds over-polished and over-produced. I had liked the direction that the band had headed in after "The Sacred Talisman". I hope they go back and record something more agressive and heavy on the next record. There were no "fast-forward" tracks on "Afterlife" or "Shadowland" but I found myself skipping through most of "New World Messiah".

Best songs are probably "New World Messiah", "Against The World" and "Awakening". The rest is mostly crap unfortunately.

Well, at the risk of being totally hated, I'm going to offer my thoughts on New World Messiah...

Personally, I gave this CD a 3, and if it wasn't for the band having an awesome singer and quality sound, I'd give it less. I'm a fan of their "Afterlife" CD a lot, and like most of "Shadowland" as well, but with this CD, I think their time has run out. What happened here?

Okay...it's not like a hate it, but once the first track is done with, I'm left yearning for something I can enjoy, but it's just not there. "New World Messiah" (the song) is a good opener. No problems but it's nothing we haven't heard before from this band. But, the comes "Against the World," and I'm left saying "damn, I hope there's something good coming soon, because I'm getting worried." Nocturnal Rites is really sounding sing-songy and relying too much on their patented background singing-infused chorus lines. The guitar solo is just boring...I may be no guitar virtuoso, but I think I could at least think of a more interesting melody here.

"Avalon" comes on and I'm like, "Okay, I don't like this song, but it's actually a good one." So, not too bad yet... But, for some reason "Avalon" makes me feel like listening to Edenbridge, because the chorus feels so bombastic I can't help but wishing I was belting out "The Undiscovered Land" atop of uptempo power metal instead of atmospheric metal. Nothing against Edenbridge, but Nocturnal Rites used to be power metal with a touch of tension, anger, and inspiration in the hooks...what's this? This just doesn't have the same excitement to it. It feels like the band's swansong more than a band in the middle of their peak as musicians.

From here though, I'm going to have a tough time liking much else..."Awakening" has an interesting chorus with it's melodic progression, but that irritating effects-ridden solo just kills it for me. "Egyptica" feels like the band needed a "concept" for a song, and just went all out with this Egypt flavor. Yeah, it's got that Egyptian sound, but the guitarwork really isn't memorable, just different from power metal. "Break Away" is a filler song that is tolerable but I felt like I'd heard it before even though the song was only 90 seconds through...

I know some people really dig power metal ballads... I am hard to win over with them, however. A ballad to me is not an excuse to dump good guitar riffing and replace it with more vocals. "The Flame Will Never Die" is just what this feels like to me. Totally formulaic, even for power metal. Not a good riff in the song, just chunky, repetitive background noise to give all the attention to the vocals.

"One Nation" is good I'd say, but still not a hit. "Nightmare" is just Nocturnal Rites playing with their own sound... you know what's going to happen before the guys play it, but at least there is some descent soloing going on here.

What happened to my sound on "Afterlife"? These guys were one of the bands that made me say "damn, power metal really kicks ass! what a band to listen to while driving!" "Shadowland" had that great song "Birth of Chaos" so I was still hopeful, but ... alas, I'm lost here. My only saving grace is that I haven't heard anything before 2000 from them, so at least I can check out "new" old material at some point and regain some respect for this band.

I'm sorry if this is offensive to anyone... Nocturnal Rites just seems like a band going through the motions, playing off their past successes and thinking that as long as they use the same sound and production, no one will notice... just my thoughts, though...

Nocturnal Rites, both old and new, produces quality work and this album is no exception. It has a progressive tone, getting darker as it goes on. All the songs are well done, and original, none of the same old stuff repeated through the album. A great listen!

My one complaint, like many other Power/Fantasy metal albums: It's too short! =) Music this good shouldn't stop!

I don't know if I can make such a bold statement, but it is definitely my #1 favorite release for 2004, and certainly ONE of the best Power Metal recordings ever. This effort is pretty much flawless, the production is crushing, guitar work is stellar (as always with N.R.) vocals are even better (and more varied) than their last two CDs, and the bass/drums lay a perfect foundation, locking in with each other and hitting insanely hard... (this CD is LOUD!)
Ever since these guys layed off the "medieval" topics, their records have been greatly improving. I'm not saying "Sacred Talisman" was not good, it's just that the last three are amazing, "New World Messiah" being the best (in my opinion...) The vocals do not get too shrill, which is a constant complaint for people just getting into Power Metal. Jonny's voice is agressive yet melodic, keeping it true to old-school metal. The leads are incredible, they fit in perfect with the song, never coming across as obnoxious... Highly recommended.

When i first heard Nocturnal Rites new singer on Afterlife, i hated his voice,always thought he sounded just like the guy from stryper.But then when i started listening to Shadowland it grew on me more and more, he still isnt one of my "favorite" singers,however he does bring a unique sound to the band.This one doesnt quite hit me like Shadowland does but this album has very good moments.The title track,Against the World,Awakening,The Flame will never die and One Nation are def all stand outs on the album.As a matter a fact the middle break after the solo in "One Nation" is so good it should have been made into a song itself,reason i say this is because they don't play it long enough so i forced to rewind it a dozen times or more,yes its that cool.The production is a little to small by comparison of SL but doesnt sound bad,just tiny,so it could use a little more power behind the songs.I didnt like the album at all when i first heard it but if you give it a few spins it will become very good.In conclusion NR have always been known for killer chorus's and there are some here as well,also the guitarist has a very very creative style without super speed or super flashy playing,although some are extremely techinical.So listen and enjoy.