I always liked NIGHTFALL and personally I liked the musical exploration they made through their own sound, an exploration that sometimes did not give the desired result or was a little too strange for the audience at that time. Nevertheless, they are back and their new album was worth the waiting.

For those who need a small history lesson, NIGHTFALL is the dark child of Efthimis Karadimas conceived in the early 90's; I think it was 1991 when their first demo came out. "Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants" is their eighth album following "Lyssa: Rural Gods And Astonishing Punishments" which was released in 2005. These five years NIGHTFALL went through a radical lineup change. Evan Hensley came on board as well as Jorg Uken, two musicians that have a key role to the sound of the album. The more I listen to "Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants" the more I like it; traveling through from gothic Metal to Black and back again with a blackness that not only is their more mature state in music for NIGHTFALL but also their more solid in ways of music and sound. In this new album I feel that the years of long experimentation is gone and is replaced by wisdom, the band has found its course in the black sea, mastered the turmoil of the creative mind and gave us a powerful album.

"Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants" is not a difficult to listen album, but that doesn't mean that it loses anything in the strength that can bring to the scene. Evan shows that he is a great guitar player, his sound is cutting edge, with riffs that leave a distinct mark and he is technical without relying into various play tricks to show that off, I could say that there is a certain humility in his work, that manifests as a dark storm when necessary, Evan's guitar play is the thing that made a first impression to me on listening the album. There are also very well placed progressive elements that augment the feeling of the album. Jorg is the second key to the album's powerful sound; his drumming is a devastating force that builds up exactly to the point were it is required, he combines the other organs and like a drummer in the ancient galleons that directed the rowing rhythm here too Jorg does exactly the same thing.

Efthimis' voice is dark and brooding, mature and disciplined, he knows what he is doing and that comes out through the music and the lyrics. You are filled with the dark energy, it incites you to join the dark seas that you see in the albums cover. I believe the waiting was worth it, NIGHTFALL came back with full force.

The album can be used as a starting point for people who do not know NIGHTFALL to join in, old fans will also not be disappointed.