Recent years have seen somewhat of a resurgence of traditional heavy metal, and there have been some strong contenders in the field, both in the veteran and newcomer category. SACRAL NIGHT has stepped into this tough arena with their debut EP "The Darkness Process", and the question is whether they can stand up to the competition.

SACRAL NIGHT are competent musicians, with years of experience no doubt. Unfortunately, that wasn't quite enough to blow my mind. There are good moments on the album, most certainly. I don't expect bands to be "out there" á la SIGH. Old-school metal shows no sign of slowing down; I've listened to a few albums on a YouTube channel exclusively dedicated to traditional heavy metal made by contemporary bands.

For me, the best material came on the second half of the EP. "Under the Moonlight" is one such track. The intro takes on a sinister tone, with blast beats accompanied by heavy, bubbling riffs. The clean vocals were particularly good here, and filled with emotion. A slower section amps up the sinister feel even more, with compelling riffs. The coda makes use of the interesting combination of blast beats and ponderous riffs. "Witness of Death" changes up the pace with a slower tempo. The harmonized clean vocals add a sense of the dramatic to the track. This track features another particularly good vocal performance from Antoine Volat. The falsetto vocals used in a harmonized part work well. Things come to an end with some great bass guitar work from Amphycion. Another track which had some good ideas was "When the Coven is Opening the Pit"; the way the riffs are layered adds a sense of intrigue.

One thing that SACRAL NIGHT needn't worry about is finding a market for their old-school sound - traditional heavy metal is flourishing, in my opinion. The band has some good ideas, and I'd like to hear more of the sort of things they did on the second half of the EP.