Afterlife

Nocturnal Rites | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 29, 2000)
• Original Release Date: August 29, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B00004WFJI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,300 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Unleashing a new, modernized approach to their vintage metal roots, this album blazes an astounding trail of memorable anthems and thunderous rhythms. Features the debut of new vocalist Jonny Lindkvist.

YEAR: 2000

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ok but not the same, September 8, 2000

By 

B. O'Leary "nocturnalguard" (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Afterlife (Audio CD)

ok here goes I personly didnt like this album, it isnt ANYTHING like their other two. First of all they changed lead singers, and they went back to their roots as a death metal band. The still sound like power metal music wizes, but their lyrics just went to hell. I'll read a line from the song Hell and back "nailed to a cross and I spit in disgust no way that I'll follow the blind Broke down the shackles that fettered my mind the devil laughs by my side" So in other word if you like this kind of music it is one of the best, but if you were like me and thinking to hear the old nocturnal rites STAY AWAY.

4.0 out of 5 stars A departure, but it's probably their best album, May 29, 2009

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Afterlife (Audio CD)

It figures that the only Nocturnal Rites album I really enjoyed is the one everyone else seems to consider an aberration. I tried a couple of the Swedish band's earlier releases (1997's Tales of Mystery and Imagination and 1999's The Sacred Talisman) and just didn't care for their Hammerfall-esque style of power metal. It was 2000's Afterlife that made me reconsider just what the band had to offer.

Now, Afterlife is still very much a melodic power metal album, but the difference between it and the band's previous albums are striking. For one thing, the music is heavier - a lot heavier - on Afterlife, moving Nocturnal Rites a little further down the spectrum away from Hammerfall and into Nevermore territory. The songs and lyrics also have a darker, more aggressive tone, emphasizing dark futuristic concepts instead of mighty warriors and magic swords. Last, but certainly not least, the band recruited a singer (Johnny Lindqvist) whose voice was as muscular and ballsy as their music had become. Lindqvist's vocals suit Nocturnal Rites' more aggressive sound perfectly.

The end result of these changes is a better than average power metal album, and one that stands the test of time much better than anything the band had previously recorded. Unfortunately the darker Nocturnal Rites sound was short-lived, and the band went back to a more predictable power metal sound. Lindqvist stuck around though, and his voice alone makes checking out later albums worthwhile.

If you're looking for another bright and shiny Dungeons & Dragons metal album, you won't find it here. If however, you're looking for a power metal album that stretches the boundaries of the genre and glories in the darker aspects of metal (without treading into clichéd satanic territory), you should definitely give Afterlife a try.

5.0 out of 5 stars After the controversy, "Afterlife" stands as a nearly flawless album, April 12, 2009

By 

alpha128 (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Afterlife (Audio CD)

"Afterlife" (2000) is the fourth album from Sweden's Nocturnal Rites and the second one I bought. My first Nocturnal Rites purchase was New World Messiah (2004), and I will restrict my discussion of their discography to those two albums.

Judging by the negative reviews published in 2000, "Afterlife" was quite controversial upon its release. From what little I've heard of Nocturnal Rites' early work, I can understand why. But listening to this album now, long after the controversy has died down, there's simply no denying the greatness of "Afterlife". I realized it when I tried to pick my favorite song and discovered what a daunting task this was.

My closest analogy for what "Afterlife" sounds like is Judas Priest's Painkiller. Not that the two sound that much alike, although "Afterlife" contains some Priest influences to be sure. But Nocturnal Rites did with "Afterlife" what Judas Priest did with "Painkiller". They took what they were doing before and made it faster, heavier, and more vicious!

My definition of a five star release is a rare album where picking the highlights results in nearly the entire track list. This surpasses that. There is not a single weak, or even mediocre, song on "Afterlife". "New World Messiah" had its share of filler ("Break Away" for instance). This has none. "Afterlife" is a killer album from start to finish.

It's hard to find fault with this CD. As I mentioned in my review of New World Messiah, the production on "Afterlife" is a bit muffled, especially the vocals. And "Afterlife" clocks in at just over forty minutes. But that's about it. These quibbles are so minor they are insignificant.

In conclusion, if you love heavy/power/speed metal and you don't own this, you're really missing out. Highly recommended.

P.S. I finally managed to pick a favorite song: "The Sinner's Cross". I've had easier root canals.