Two years ago we opened the floodgates on a lot of enthusiastic words about the multi-faceted music of the Denver-based metal collective NightWraith. Back then, the subject was the band’s album Offering, which their leader Benjamin Pitts described as a combination of “the heavy parts from bands like Carcass, and Enslaved” and “the warmth of classic bands like Thin Lizzy, and Blue Oyster Cult“.
That album was so engaging and memorable that we eagerly looked forward to what NightWraith might do next. What they’ve done next is create a new album named Divergence that will be released on September 13th by What’s Left Records. It’s even more ambitious than the last one, and even better.
In addition to helping spread the news about the new record, today we’re also premiering a video for its first single, a song intriguingly named “Whispers of Dragonflies“.
L-R – Caleb Jose Tardio – Keyboards/Synthesizer, Igor Panasewicz – Guitar, Isidro “Spy” Soto – Drums, Jacob St. Amand – Bass, Benjamin Pitts – Vocals/Guitar
Photo Credit – Josh Massara
We’ll begin our preview of this new song with another statement from Benjamin Pitts:
“I know it sounds cliche, but we really wanted Divergence to take listeners on a sonic journey. There are many layers, and the idea was for people to hear something new upon each listen. The album is intended to lift you up with major melodies, evoke emotion with harmonic minors, and harken overall feelings of nostalgia and hope.
“The single ‘Perpetual Night’ is a good example of a driving heavy-metal song that is catchy but epic. It checks all the NightWraith boxes by having hooks accompanied by clever vocals, a dynamic drop-off that brings the energy down, and some really epic solos.
“The other single ‘Whispers of Dragonflies’ is an even more extreme example of this formula. It starts with a nostalgic-sounding synth melody, goes into a fast chorus, and has a clean middle section that showcases more of our classic rock influences. As the energy in this song gradually picks back up, there is a beautiful flute solo by Kelly Schilling (Dreadnought) that ends with the same chorus from the beginning, making it a ‘circular’ type of song.”
Lyrically, the song we’re premiering today is a poem Pitts wrote about an area in Colorado’s Pike National Forest called the Lost Creek Wilderness, which he visited as a kid with his dad on a multi-day backpacking trip. He still hikes the area every few years and still finds it inspiring.
The statement by Ben Pitts quoted above already gives you a good roadmap to what happens in the song, but we’ll add a few words of our own.
As you’ll quickly discover, in its opening phase it presents an unusual amalgam of futuristic swirling keyboards and full-throttle blackened ferocity replete with raking chords, hammering drums, and scalding vocals. But it does begin changing, like a musical chameleon.
Those changes include a beautifully ringing guitar melody backed by shimmering synths, musing bass tones, and gripping drum fills, and fronted by somber and melancholy singing with a bit of grit in the gears. That phase is a sublime experience, made even more sublime by a guitar solo that sounds like a beguiling prog-rock throwback.
The intensity builds again, but without sacrificing the music’s increasingly head-spinning beauty, and that paves the way for the afore-mentioned concert-flute solo, which is flat-out mesmerizing.
As also mentioned, the song then loops back to its beginning — hammering, slashing, scalding, and swirling once more, fierce but also glorious.
The song is presented with a beautifully filmed video of the band performing the music. Enjoy!
Here are the people who participated in the creation of Divergence:
NIGHTWRAITH:
Benjamin Pitts: vocals/guitar
Isidro ‘Spy’ Soto: drums
Igor Panasewicz: guitar
Caleb Jose Tardio: keyboards/synthesizer
Jacob St. Amand: bass
GUESTS:
Cole Rudy – pedal steel guitar on Perpetual Night
Andreas Wild – baritone saxophone on One Flower
Kelly Schilling – concert flute on Whispers of Dragonflies
Joey Truscelli – guitar solo on Invocation
Dan Phelps & Chuck French – backup vocals on Fallen Kings and Queens
Jeremy Portz & Xander Galvin-Soto – auxiliary percussion on Divergence
Divergence was produced/engineered by Jacob St. Amand and NightWraith. It was mixed and mastered by Zack Ohren, and features album artwork by Jef Kopp. It’s recommended for fans of Tribulation, Opeth, Mastodon, Enslaved, and Judas Priest.
For more info about the album and how to get it, keep an eye on the locations linked below.
https://nightwraith.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/nightwraithband/
https://www.nightwraithband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nightwraithband
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