Band:	Nightfall
Album:	Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	August 30, 2010
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Intro
02. Astron Black
03. Astronomica / Saturnian Moon
04. Astra Planeta / We Chose The Sun
05. Ambassador Of Mass
06. The Criterion
07. Asebeia
08. I-I
09. Archon Basileus
10. Proxima Centauri / Dead Bodies
11. The Thirty Tyrants
12. Epsilon Lyrae

Nightfall as far as I recall is the first Hellenic metal band to have signed a contract with a record company from abroad and It was something great back in the days for an unknown country on the metal map, it was the first part of a chain reaction that soon would burst with Rotting Christ, Septicflesh and other bands from this part of the Mediterranean Sea.

2010 and Nightfall return with their 8th full-length release to date, Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants. The cover art is beautiful with a hellenic approach, with the featuring ship probably being Argo, setting sail on another expedition with Efthimis Karadimas and his crew. After some years of silence the band returns more mature in sound, the line-up blends together really well and their atmospheric gothic/death metal shines once again.

Despite its twelve compositions, Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants keeps the interest of the listener at high levels from the very beginning to the very end, the one great song lends its place to the next one and so it flows harmonically for 43 minutes. Worth mentioning is the fact that, somehow, Nightfall tend to evoke an archaic essence through the compositions, justifying the cover artwork and the titles of the songs. Great guitar riffing explodes all over the place steamrolling the audience, whereas the more melodic passages lend a more lyrical view (and let's not forget the beautiful solos!), along with the dithyrambic orchestrations/keyboards. The rhythm section is fluent and bombastic, lending utter groove to the compositions, marching fast in awe or planting the seeds for the next siege. Last but not least, Euthimis on the vocals whether he recites, grunts or sings in dementia stands more mature than ever behind the microphone, spitting the draconian law upon humanity.

No, no stand-out tracks, the album flows as one, marches as one, strikes as a whole, henceforth, Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants is the manifestation of grandeur and lyricism through aggression and ambiance, a powerful magnum opus from a band that fought and succeeded in establishing its territory in the vast waters of atmospheric metal. It's time for Nightfall to cherish the glory they deserve, the one sadly didn't receive to date like the other two consisting of the Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers.