Back in 2020, the RMR crew heard about a “…newly formed band…” hailing from the Californian desert with some pig-headed take on how to mold their metal. Alas, both of Nite‘s first records – Darkness Silence Mirror Flame and Voices of the Kronian Moon – never reached far enough into our review pipe to get the attention of the sump rats down there. There was no particular reason for that, either. The last years were filled with loads of great rock, metal, and folk. So, as the saying goes, we had many other fish to fry.
But here, their 2025 piece, Cult of the Serpent Sun, landed squarely in front of us and would not heed orders to disappear again. Thus, welcome to the terrors of RMR’s Review Gehenna. Challenge accepted.
Nite is a funny one. They serve you with snazzy guitar work straight from the Metal o’ the Light. And then, gruff and somewhat monotonous vocals erupt. Seemingly originating straight from Batman with a throat ache on the lookout for his famed mobile. And then, Nite dare calling their frankly weird style some sort of a blackened something, poured into hardened steel for good measure. The RMR crew kinda loved that little twist.
Cult of the Serpent Sun somewhat doggedly follows the old tropes of their former records. And why change a winning team, right? But – some movement was detected by the watchers of the review desk. Where the former piece was almost exuberantly basking in the waning light of past NWoBHM pleasures, this time, you’ll find much more doom ‘n’ gloom. And this facet incited the old geezers over at the review desk to lift their weary, befuddled heads.
And you know what? At first, this whole chebang sounded like trying to ram a round peg into a square hole to us. Albeit, after a while of twirling this disk, Nite‘s strategy started to work on and for us, and work well. There’s allure in propping a blackened death rasp on top of whatever snazzy Heavy or Doom Metal riff series comes to their mutual minds. Thus, kudos to axemen Van Labrakis and Scott Hoffman for a genuinely outstanding performance. The former also acts as the bardish Warbler ov the Underworld, by the way. The riffs, bridges, licks, and solos are right on point, well-written, and fully adjusted to the mood of the moment. In other words, the guitarists here adapted the style to pretty much every track. And this also reflects in the mix, with the guitars coming in at least at the same level than the ever-present rasps.
Cult of the Serpent Sun serves the typical riff patterns for Heavy and – at times – Doom Metal, true. But nowhere on this short blurb will you find a repeat of Iron Maiden‘s (in)famous galloping chores. And as to the axe work and different styles, those probably sail close enough to Black Sabbath‘s performance over their decade-long career. And that’s a compliment, by the way. Put differently, this means that Nile is nobody’s bitch. And this is yet another major brownie point.
Ultimately, Cult of the Serpent Sun was a revelation. Perhaps not in the creative vocal geekery department, but Nite knocked it out of the park with their uncanny knack for juicy riffs, leads, and superb soloing. The tonality, texture, and variation really send many other established guitarists to the Corner ov Shame. And that’s no understatement. Give praise where praise is due, right?
But let’s not sugarcoat things too much, either. The RMR crew detected one major issue with this band’s performance and style. And it isn’t musical prowess, of course. For now, the RMR crew had some true fun marvelling about all those snazzy and shiny objects the band is offering in the melodic department. The monotonous, hoarse vocals, together with some instrumental witchery, provided this added spice to keep attention levels up and the juices flowing. But remember, it is the third time Nite try to score with pretty much the very same formula. And I am unsure if yet another rinse and repeat routine would continue to thrive on their next release.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Season of Mist | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 14 March 2025