Review by Adam M on February 11, 2012.

"Lacrima Mortis" represents some incredibly good Doom Metal wrapped in a glistening package of stellar production values. The songs have an incredibly huge impact with massive riffs and wired vocals that create a brilliant atmosphere that can be likened to Paradise Lost’s classic "Gothic" album, but has a much more modern appeal. A comparison can also be made to bands like Candlemass as well.

This is very much Doom in the classic style, but is bolstered by a punishing production job and a very morose atmosphere. This downtrodden style is one of the elements that is pushed to the limit on the album and makes it such a standout Doom Metal overall. This is seen right from the excellent opening track 'We All Die Alone' which gets things off to an enormous start after a serene intro. There are plenty of great moments in many of the other songs, but none of them really stands out as much as the first one does. Regardless, the very despondent vibe carries through each song and there is an almost religious nature to the sadness that prevails throughout the cavernous riffs and lead vocals. If there is any knock against the album, it’s that it all begins to sound a bit too similar on the whole, with little deviation in the nature of each track.

However, "Lacrima Mortis" is still some of the best Doom metal I’ve heard outside of some of the greatest classics of the genre. It’s also a bright glimmering glimpse of what could be a great year for Doom Metal in general.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 9.5
Production: 9.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Adam M on February 11, 2012.

"Lacrima Mortis" represents some incredibly good Doom Metal wrapped in a glistening package of stellar production values. The songs have an incredibly huge impact with massive riffs and wired vocals that create a brilliant atmosphere that can be likened to Paradise Lost’s classic "Gothic" album, but has a much more modern appeal. A comparison can also be made to bands like Candlemass as well.

This is very much Doom in the classic style, but is bolstered by a punishing production job and a very morose atmosphere. This downtrodden style is one of the elements that is pushed to the limit on the album and makes it such a standout Doom Metal overall. This is seen right from the excellent opening track 'We All Die Alone' which gets things off to an enormous start after a serene intro. There are plenty of great moments in many of the other songs, but none of them really stands out as much as the first one does. Regardless, the very despondent vibe carries through each song and there is an almost religious nature to the sadness that prevails throughout the cavernous riffs and lead vocals. If there is any knock against the album, it’s that it all begins to sound a bit too similar on the whole, with little deviation in the nature of each track.

However, "Lacrima Mortis" is still some of the best Doom metal I’ve heard outside of some of the greatest classics of the genre. It’s also a bright glimmering glimpse of what could be a great year for Doom Metal in general.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 9.5
Production: 9.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Jeger on March 6, 2025.

I don't cover heavy metal too often, and it's because I'm sick of all the '80's throwback, bordering-on-glam bullshit that we've been subjected to over the course of the past 20 years with all these young bands attempting to somehow rehash the glory of the heyday by wearing what look like heavy metal costumes and sounding like something you'd hear in your older brother's IROC back in '86 as you made your way to Tower Records or Radio Shack. Heavy metal is a fairly versatile sub-genre and yet here these bands are just stroking it off as opposed to doing something great with it. I can't speak for you, but I, for one, am burned out on '80's heavy metal satires. And look, here comes Nite. Get a load of these dudes…

Nite - blackened heavy metal straight outta where it all kicked off - San Francisco, California, USA. Two and soon to be three LPs to boast as we prepare for the arrival of Cult Of The Serpent Sun, scheduled for a March 14 release via Season of Mist. You're gonna dig this one. Heavy metal with testicular fortitude. Heavy enough to get you in fighting spirit and melodic enough to get your eyelids to droop like a bong hit of Bubba Kush. Ah, this band has grown immensely since their debut, and I'm starting to get chubbed here. I don't know what's better: Van's Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Beherit) heralding vocals, Scott's triumphant axe work or the rhythm section consisting of Avinash Mittur (bass) & Patrick Crawford (drums) and their intrepid, martial and dense-as-a-tack-hammer-to-the-forehead rhythm/bass line incursions. And it's packaged pretty in all that melody as tracks like "Crow (Fear The Night)" unfold. Street level nasty riffs and a couple of "fuck this guy is good" solos make this one like something you could almost fuck to. Just kidding… But not really.

Just past the midway point we get to the oozing-with-Cali "The Last Blade". Haunt or Night Demon anyone? One for the open road here and for the epiphany that less is generally always more in the soloing department. It's in how well the solo fits the song and whether or not it enriches the experience or if it just distracts you from it, and not much at all about trying to sound like Dave Mustaine. Man, a place for every band member and every band member in his place. What discipline and what wisdom in action. Take notes, kids. This is how you shake shit up. A proper epic in "Winds Of Sokar" to culminate our run. Another triumph! Nothing too fancy, just smooth as silk and bordering on balladry type of aesthetics.

This is one of those promos that really makes it a treat to be able to listen to records before people like you get to. I'll be listening to this one repeatedly even before it comes out. I'm only bragging because it's that good. The aforementioned guitarist, Scott Hoffman, just runs away with this one and it's not even fair. A guitar-driven blackened heavy fucking metal band is Nite, and I struggle to think of a more adept axeman outside of maybe Dave Davidson (Revocation). But as I mentioned before, Scott just has something that most guitarists do not - an uncanny ear for melody and the natural ability to formulate that understanding into music that gives you goosebumps, like what you'll hear during the entirety of Cult Of The Serpent Sun here.

Heavy as sagging balls and blackened to perfection heavy fucking metal? Yes, please… And check 'em out in the photo - no gimmicks or overtly cheesy nostalgia - just four dudes who look like they own the Nite… Pun intended! Nite is no gimmick either. It's catching on. Deströyer 666 released their most recent record a few years ago in "Never Surrender" - a blackened heavy metal opus. Dare I say that Nite's more MODERN approach is actually a bit more invigorating. You'd be a fool like the guy from Invisible Oranges to confine Nite and their style to one silly decade. Cult Of The Serpent Sun? Don't miss it. This is why we listen to metal…

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Jeger on March 6, 2025.

I don't cover heavy metal too often, and it's because I'm sick of all the '80's throwback, bordering-on-glam bullshit that we've been subjected to over the course of the past 20 years with all these young bands attempting to somehow rehash the glory of the heyday by wearing what look like heavy metal costumes and sounding like something you'd hear in your older brother's IROC back in '86 as you made your way to Tower Records or Radio Shack. Heavy metal is a fairly versatile sub-genre and yet here these bands are just stroking it off as opposed to doing something great with it. I can't speak for you, but I, for one, am burned out on '80's heavy metal satires. And look, here comes Nite. Get a load of these dudes…

Nite - blackened heavy metal straight outta where it all kicked off - San Francisco, California, USA. Two and soon to be three LPs to boast as we prepare for the arrival of Cult Of The Serpent Sun, scheduled for a March 14 release via Season of Mist. You're gonna dig this one. Heavy metal with testicular fortitude. Heavy enough to get you in fighting spirit and melodic enough to get your eyelids to droop like a bong hit of Bubba Kush. Ah, this band has grown immensely since their debut, and I'm starting to get chubbed here. I don't know what's better: Van's Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance (Beherit) heralding vocals, Scott's triumphant axe work or the rhythm section consisting of Avinash Mittur (bass) & Patrick Crawford (drums) and their intrepid, martial and dense-as-a-tack-hammer-to-the-forehead rhythm/bass line incursions. And it's packaged pretty in all that melody as tracks like "Crow (Fear The Night)" unfold. Street level nasty riffs and a couple of "fuck this guy is good" solos make this one like something you could almost fuck to. Just kidding… But not really.

Just past the midway point we get to the oozing-with-Cali "The Last Blade". Haunt or Night Demon anyone? One for the open road here and for the epiphany that less is generally always more in the soloing department. It's in how well the solo fits the song and whether or not it enriches the experience or if it just distracts you from it, and not much at all about trying to sound like Dave Mustaine. Man, a place for every band member and every band member in his place. What discipline and what wisdom in action. Take notes, kids. This is how you shake shit up. A proper epic in "Winds Of Sokar" to culminate our run. Another triumph! Nothing too fancy, just smooth as silk and bordering on balladry type of aesthetics.

This is one of those promos that really makes it a treat to be able to listen to records before people like you get to. I'll be listening to this one repeatedly even before it comes out. I'm only bragging because it's that good. The aforementioned guitarist, Scott Hoffman, just runs away with this one and it's not even fair. A guitar-driven blackened heavy fucking metal band is Nite, and I struggle to think of a more adept axeman outside of maybe Dave Davidson (Revocation). But as I mentioned before, Scott just has something that most guitarists do not - an uncanny ear for melody and the natural ability to formulate that understanding into music that gives you goosebumps, like what you'll hear during the entirety of Cult Of The Serpent Sun here.

Heavy as sagging balls and blackened to perfection heavy fucking metal? Yes, please… And check 'em out in the photo - no gimmicks or overtly cheesy nostalgia - just four dudes who look like they own the Nite… Pun intended! Nite is no gimmick either. It's catching on. Deströyer 666 released their most recent record a few years ago in "Never Surrender" - a blackened heavy metal opus. Dare I say that Nite's more MODERN approach is actually a bit more invigorating. You'd be a fool like the guy from Invisible Oranges to confine Nite and their style to one silly decade. Cult Of The Serpent Sun? Don't miss it. This is why we listen to metal…

Rating: 10 out of 10