The Nightstalker/A Journey In Hell/Wolfshade Records/2017 CD Review

  Belgium's  solo  project  The  Nightstalker  has returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  the  ambient  style  of  black  metal  from  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "A  Journey  In  Hell"  which  was  released  by  Wolfshade  Records.

  Ambient  style  keyboards  which  also  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  whispers  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  heavy  riffs,  melodic  guitar  leads  and  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  symphonic  elements.

  Classical  guitars  can  be  heard  briefly  while  some  tracks  also  add  in  touches  of  goth  along  with  the riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  and  fast  riffs  can  be  heard  while  the  main  focus  is  on   more  of  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  the  album  closes  with  an  instrumental  track.

  The  Nightstalker  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  ambient  style  of  black  metal  that  was  established  on  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  continue  the  concept  story  of  The  Nightstalker.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Nightstalker  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ambient  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Children  Of  The  Devil"  "Cerberus"  "The  Library"  and  "Red  Moon  Rises".  8  out  of  10.  

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeL4jRqUP_c-mpOatP6NaJw

 

The Nightstalker/All For A Promise/Wolfshade Records/2015 CD Review

  The  Nightstalker  are  a  solo  project  from  Belgium  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  keyboard  and  ambient  style  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2015  album  "All  For  A  Promise"  which  was  released  by  Wolfshade  Records.

  A  very  dark  ambient  keyboard  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodic  guitar  leads  and  grim  whispers  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  that  also  introduces  black  metal  vocals  onto  the  recording  while  also  keeping  around  the  keyboard  sound.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  goth  and  dark  metal  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  instrumentals  present  on  the  album  while  some  of  the  later  tracks  add  in  a  touch  of  dungeon  synth  and  when  of  the  later  guitar  solos  adds  an influence  of  post  black  metal  to  the  recording  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  while  the  music  speeds  up a   bit  on  the  last  track  and  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  The  Nightstalker  creates  another  slow,  keyboard  orientated  black  metal  album  which  remains  faithful  to  the  musical  style  that  he  has  established  on  previous  recordings,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  continue  the  concept  of  the  fallen  angel  "Nightstalker'  and  his  story.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  The  Nightstalker  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  keyboard  orientated,  ambient  black  metal,  you  should  enjoy  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fight  Under  the  Rain"  "The  Diversion"  "I  Miss  Her"  and  "Army  Of  Darkness".  8  out  of  10.  

 https://www.facebook.com/Thenightstalkerofficial

 

The Nightstalker 2014 Interview

1.Can you give us an update with what is going on with both Sercati and the Nightstalker these days?
1. A lot of things. We have release our new albums with the both project and we start the promotion. I finish and release the second book about the story of the Nightstalker. I'm very happy. And one of our friend translate the book in english to export it. We finally find two news guitar players. Florian Hardy and Olivier Clément. Very nice guys and with us in the story of The Nightstalker. They are some friends and they already supported us before join the band.

2.Recently you have put out new albums with both projects, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recordings and also how do they differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

2. For the second album of Sercati, the most important thing was that there was only Yan and me for the recording. We worked together to find some new sound. We illustrated the fight of the nightstalker against the hound from hell. The track are more energic and epic. We worked in a very good collaboration between Yannick, Jonny Mazzeo (our session guitarist for this album) and me. We can feel it when we listen the track. The writing of the songs were more complete.

For the second album of The Nightstalker, i didn't know what would be the subject of the tracks. So, i finally choose the most important thing to do. Speak about the other character and what's happening in the city. So, i go deeper in the story and illustrate all the characters with some songs. The ambiance are different to correspond of the mind of the character that the nightstalker explains. It's how the nightstalker see them and the world around him, it's all the album like that. It's not a step in the story but an explanation of the context.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical concept of The Nightstalker with these 2 new albums and where it picks up from on the past albums?

3. For Sercati, at the end of the tales of the fallen, a new character comes and warn the nightstalker about a future struggle with him. It's the first real ennemi who Lucifer send to destroy him. It's a physical and mind fight between them. We follow all the doubt of The Nightstalker. It's the direct next part of the story.

For the Nightstalker, it's different. There is a lot of thing to tell about the other character and the universe, so it's more like a explicative album and a way to discover the context of the story and the future character that the Nightstalker will see in his adventure in Sercati and in the next album of The Nightstalker.

4.Are there any touring plans for Serecati with the new album and also will you also be bringing in more live songs from the solo project?

4. We have some live show in Belgium and yes we play two or three songs from The Nightstalker project

5.How do you feel black metal fans will react to the new albums that you have released and also have the reviews also been positive?

5. For Sercati, there is a lot of good feedback but for The Nightstalker i'ts different. The people like or don't like there is no equilibrium, it's yes or not. Sometimes it's difficult for the review.

6.Where do you see the concept of the Nightstalker picking up on future albums and also what musical direction can we expect from future albums?

6. I hope to write three books more and follow the story with Sercati. The other project, i think to give him some orginal stories, maybe, or continue to explore the other face of the story. We thought to tell the story of one cop of the Natural City police Departement.

7.Out of the 2 albums that you have released which one are you the most happy with?

7. The both, it's all my work. I'm very glad because some people believe in my work and my character, so i want to give him a lot of adventure.

8.Have you discovered any good music during the last year?

8. Sword at hymns. The single and the full album are very good. The new Heathen Foray too. I discover "Happy Days" too and Sombre Labyrinthe.

9.Are there any plans in the future do introduce any other concepts in your song writing besides the ones you already have written about?

9. Yes, we really thought to tell a parralel story. See the story behind other eyes. We have a character in the book. A cop, the Sergent Patrick Matennen. He don't know that there is some angels and demons in his city (and in the world). He follows the action but without the truth. I wrote the second book about his story.

10.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

10. Thanks to Occultblackmetalzine to support us. I invite all people to go on our facebook page's and support us. And we hope to continue the story.

Thanks to you for this opportunity. We are very glad of this. Have a nice day

Steve

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The Nightstalker/The Chronicles Of Natural City/Wolfshade Records/2014 CD Review

  The  Nightstalker  are  1  a  band  from  Belgium  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  continues  his  dark  ambient  approach  to  black  metal  on  this  new  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  album  "The  Chronicles  of  Natural  City"  which  was  released  by  Wolfshade  Records.

  Classical  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  synths  and  grim  black  metal  vocals  and  after  the  intro  melodic  guitars  make  their  way  into  the  music  as  well  as  the  recording  getting  a  bit  heavier  and  the  guitars  have  more  of  a  dominant  sound  on  this  recording  than  the  previous  one  that  was  reviewed  and  the music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  guitar  leads.

  As  the  album  progresses  classical  guitars  make  their  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  synths  bringing  in  more  symphonic  and  dark  ambient  elements  to  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  mixture  of  both  heavy  and  soft  songs  being  included  on  the  album  with  the  heavier  tracks  evoking  a  more  melodic  black  metal  atmosphere  and  on  some  of  the  later t racks  spoken  word  parts  become  a  part  of  the  music.

  The  Nightstalker  add  a  new  chapter  to  their  dark  ambient  black  metal  sound   and  remaining  true  to  the  musical  direction  of  the  previous  recordings  as  well  as  having  a  very  powerful  sounding  production  and  the  lyrics  continuing  the  concept  about  the  archangel  'The  Nightstalker'  and  his  story.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Nightstalker  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ambient  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Remember  The  War"  "Trouble  In  My  Head"  "The  Confrontation"  and  "Alone  Against  The  Apocalypse".  8  out  of  10.

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The Nightstalker Interview

1. Can you introduce our readers to both of your musical projects, Sercati and The Nightstalker, and give us a brief history about how and when the bands started?





So for Sercati, it goes back a few years ago. I had the opportunity to play in a black metal band (Ooirim) and it was my first experience in the black metal. I was having fun and at the end of the project, I decided to recreate one band with two other friends (Damien and Nico). We recorded a few tracks to testing compositions and finally some people like them and we have decided to continue to record under the name Sercati. When the possibility of recording the album was presented, I asked Yannick who joined us for the drums.

For The Nightstalker, this comes from my affection to the character and a need to do something more ambient and more narrative. I wanted to go deeper into the concept and I wrote a number of songs that doesn't take place into the atmosphere Sercati. I preferred experimented solo, the lyrics are more personal and the music too.

 2. Describe the sound of both of your musical projects and how they differ from each other?
 

 Good question. For me, Sercati evolves in the influences of old black metal with modern influences and modern sounds. As part of the lineage of black metal with progressive trend I think.

For The Nightstalker, I seek the atmosphere and narrative. The music attempts to agree with the emotions and situations that the character lives. There is a desire to remain ambient passages but more aggressive when the situation allows. I will say that I remain in the atmospheric black metal.

                                                                          

3. Both Sercati and The Nightstalker's concepts are based on an angel known as The Nightstalker from the book "Le journal du Nightstalker" can you give us a little more insight into how this concept was conceived and how did the book deal come about?

 The concept comes when I was writing the first album. I really wanted to find a continuity in the songs. And in one of our songs, I was referring to a hero that anybody couldn't say if he was good or bad (I wrote the song after seeing Batman The Dark Night). The song was called at the time "The Night Stalker". We also had a song called "The fall" which spoke of a fall forced to live by somebody to discover the freedom. And trying to bring together the different themes, I got like a puzzle to put the pieces together and make a story. Then I created the links between all the songs and we readjust the lyrics of the songs to go in this direction. While I worked on the design graphic of "Tales of the fallen", the desire to tell his adventures was there. I began by telling the story after released the CD. Then I wrote several little stories, introduced a lot of new characters  and added logic to the universe. And finally a lot of little stories became the book.

4.Can you tell us what is the meaning and inspiration behind Sercati and whats the origin of the name?

At first, it was a joke between us. A kind of word that meant nothing, and finally we decided to make a band name. I think the meaning behind is more about friendship and passion for music.

5.With Sercati you worked with a full band lineup, for The Nightstaler you are working solo, how would you compare the two different situations, and how does it affect the musical and writing process?

                                                                                 

Writing songs are basically the same. I write most of the songs and lyrics. The differences are in the compromise everyone's desires and the need to express each musician. For the drums in Sercati, I don't write anything to let place for the expression of Yannick. Regarding the establishment I bring a good foundation and after we adapt like we want. This way avoids falling into too influences that don't correspond to the general atmosphere of Sercati. But the biggest bonus is that we had our sound engineer. Jonathan Mazzeo of  Mathlab Studio has teaching us a lot and make a lot of things. He teaches me a lot.

 In The Nightstalker, the question doesn't arise about the influence, I have more freedom to do what I want to base. I experiment, I try. This allows me to think like the character. I really try to give the listener a more personal side of my work and my realization.

                                                                    

  6. You played some live shows with Sercati in 2011, how was the experience and will The Nightstalker ever play live or is it strictly a studio project?
 

I must admit that the scene miss us a lot. We were really focused on recording the second album. The public enjoyed ourselves and made ​​some concerts were very good. We look forward to resuming concerts faster. We work in this context, following the departure of Nicolas (guitar), we found a new guitarist (Florian Hardy). We are currently working to get back on stage as soon as possible. We intend to add a few tracks from The Nightstalker in the set-list of Sercati to see the public reception and advise at this time for the next step.

7.The Secrati album was released through Grom Records and The Nightstalker album came out on Wolfshade Records, how did you get in contact with these labels and how would you describe your relationship with them and the support they have given you so far?
 

Sercati had the chance to work under the guidance of Carlo Bellotti Publishing (he is our manager). They allowed us to release the first album "Tales of the Fallen" under Copro Records. But unfortunately with Copro, nothing went as planned. Very awful time for us. But Carlo was there and find a solution, the album remained available and he found us the opportunity to re-release at Grom records and the second album to be released soon. The people from Grom records are truly amazing and are passionate for music. We could meet at a party they organized in Belgium. They find the words to make us comfortable, they advised and assisted. The contact is very easy and they are very understanding and investing.

For The Nightstalker, I had the opportunity to meet the label ideal. Enjoy by the project and the music, the contact is moved quickly and there is a real human contact. I actually found someone full of confidence and courage. He has always shown determination to fix the situation. I'm really happy to work with him. A big thanks to Andriy

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal, metal and dark ambient?

Opinions are divided, but most are in positive. Among other things, we have a lot of encouragement to go deeper our concept with the story. We have a lot of good advice and people say k us going. I think the bad reviews are needed to grow. But always take constructive criticism of each. The reception of the two projects has delighted us with a lot of web-zines and radios.

                                                                            

9.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism, do they play a part in your everyday life
at all ?

So not really, I'm interested in the occult and it doesn't influence my life everyday. It affects me in my writing. But I use Catholicism as a backdrop. I'm not against Catholicism, but i don't like what the human do with.

10. what are you listening to nowadays, are there any certain bands or musical styles that influence the way you create music, also outside of music what are some of your interests and hobbies?
 

My favorite artist is particularly Satanic Warmaster. My favorite album is the Carelian Satanist Madness. He always art of writing powerful riffs. I always have a special affection for Blutklinge which also influenced me a lot also. But I'm very admirative of Agalloch, Fall of Rauros and a lot of other band in this type of music. And the level of hobbies, I try to share my time between music and my girlfriend. I take care of administrative and everything about the two groups. I spend a lot of time. But I like video games with a good story.

11. How do you view the state of Black Metal now days in your country as well as from around the world?

The Nordic countries and Eastern European countries are in my opinion open in this wave of music and south America too. In Belgium, we don't have a good way of distribution, it's difficult to purchase vinyl or disc of Black metal. The concerts are always going but it's very difficult to have access of the stage, despite the good festivals we have in Belgium. It is hard to get a place there. Thanks to the internet, the community can better grow and spread more in some countries than others.

12. Speaking about the state of Black Metal what direction do you see both of your musical projects heading towards into the future?

                                                                             

I write music that I like ear and play and I want to share with people. Both in Sercati in The Nightstalker, we will continue to advance this. It's true that the expression of Sercati will slowly move towards something less ambient and more punchy. I have always a lot of thing to say and to tell about the Nightstalker. 

                                                                                 

13.Any final words or thoughts that you would like to add about The Nightstalker before we wrap up this interview?

Too many things to say. I record this moment a lot of new songs which will follow his adventures after the fight against the anesthetist who is expected to announce a major significant change in history. I hope that I will ever be able to write the whole story. Thank you for the interview. 


For band contact and info visit
https://www.facebook.com/Thenightstalkerofficial
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sercati/153116211453468
http://vacula.com.ua/eng/index_eng.htm

The Nightstalker/Against The Anesthetist/Wolfshade Records/2013 FUll Length Review

  The  Nightstalker  are  a  1  man  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  dark  ambient  form  of  black metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2013  album  "Against  The  Anesthetist"  which  was  released  by  Wolfshade  Records.

  "Snow  Falls  On  Natural  City"  begins  with  some  dark  and  evil  sounding  synths  which  leads  to  some  grim  black  metal  vocals  which  also  mix  in  with  the  synths  as  well  as  serving  as  an  intro  for  the  album.

  "Strange  World"  begins  with  some  acoustic  guitar  playing  which  utilizes  full  chords  along  with  a  melodic  and  atmospheric  background  which  leads  to  some  grim  screams  as  well  as  the  guitars  using  more  open  notes  and  finger  picking  and  after  awhile  you  can  hear  some  semi  heavy  guitar  riffs  for  a  few  seconds  before  returning  to  its  more  soft  roots.

  "Am  I  Like  Him"  begins  with  some  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  which  also  lead  to  some  drum  programming  as  well  as  some  synths  setting  up  the  mood  for  some  vocals  which  combines  with  all  of  the  other  musical  instruments  during  its  3  minutes  of  existence.

  "Without  News  From  Father"  starts  off  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  which  utilizes  finger  picking  and  after  a  few  seconds  you  can  hear  some  electric  guitar  sounds  in  the  background  which  lead  to  the  vocals  kicking  in,  as  the  song  moves  on  synths  make  their  presence  known  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads.while focusing  more  on  synths  on  vocals.

  "Sad  To  See  You  Again"  begins  with  some  synth  playing  which  leads  to  some  melodic  guitar riffs  as  well  as  the  grim  and  dark  vocals  which  combine  with  the  guitars  and  synths  until  the  song  comes  to  and  end.

  "If  I Never  Felt"  starts  off  with  some  soft  ambient  synths  which  leads  to  the  drum  programming  and  melodic  black  metal  guitar  riffs  which  after  awhile  leads  to  the  black  metal  vocals  as  well  as  switching  back  and  forth  between  synth  and  guitar  parts.

  "Questions"  begin  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing,  powerful  bass  playing,  drum  programming  and  vocals  which  lead  to  some  synths  getting  mixed  in  and  after  awhile  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  make  their  presence  known  while  also  keeping  around  the  other  musical  instruments.

  "Against  The  Anesthetist"  begins  with  some clean  guitar  playing  which  leads  to  the  drum  programming,  synths,  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  bass  and  grim  vocals  which  also  lead  to  the  riffing  getting  more  melodic  and  towards the  end  the  synths  start  getting  even  more  powerful.

  "An  Escape"  begins  with  some  soft  synth  playing  which  utilizes  a  variety  of  many  different  keys  setting  up  the  mood  for  some  bass,  drums  and  melodic  guitar  playing  which  also  starts  mixing  in  some  power  chords  which  leads  up  to  the  introduction  of  the  vocals  which  mix  in  with  the  other musical  instruments.

  "Some  Blood  In  The  Snow"  begins  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  which  utilizes  finger  picking  and  full  chords  along  with  some  dark  sounding  vocals  which  combine  with  some  guitars  and  synths  to  close  the  album.

  Song  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  an  angel  known  as  The  Nightstalker  and  his  battle  and  struggles  against  darkness  and  light  from  is  own  point  of  view,  while t he  production  has  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound.

  In  mt  opinion  The  NightStalker"  is  a  very  great  sounding  dark  ambient/black  metal  solos  artist  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Snow  Falls  On  Natural  City"  "Without  News  From  The  Father"  "Questions"  and  "An  Escape".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

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