The hard/occult rock and NWOBHM revival in the metal scene is a bit out of control in the best way possible. Every sub genre under the broad umbrella of “metal” has gone through (and will possibly again go through) this rush of bands racing to create music in a certain style. Inevitably, after the initial rush of awesomeness is done, listeners are bombarded with bands that, quite frankly, are second rate and we are eventually forced to sift through the pretenders to find the gems of the genre. But when you do find one of those gems it makes it so worth it. Allow me to unearth for you Connecticut’s Nightbitch.
Nightbitch play metal as sexy and as dirty as their name (and album covers) would have you believe. They are the sonic equivalent of 70’s German porn – accessible and artistic enough for the casual fan to get into but nasty enough to scare off the poseurs. ‘Falses’, as guitarist Ryan “His Emissary” Adams calls them, need not apply. Adams is also guitarist extraordinaire for black metal band Ipsissimus (formerly of the Metal Blade roster) and the Nightbitch power trio is rounded out by drummer/vocalist Chris Taylor (Kingdom of Sorrow) and Mark Eles (De Omega) on bass. Together the three of them have come together over a love of sick riffs and general depravity to form an unholy alliance.
There are often Danzig comparisons when people mention Nightbitch but to be honest this band makes Danzig look soft. Nobody in this band is posing for PR photos, greased up, with their shirts off because this band isn’t hitting the gym, they’re hitting the Pabst Blue Ribbon and then most likely the bong. But that’s the hedonist rock and roll lifestyle that Nightbitch live for and what their music represents. Angel Witch, Sir Lord Baltimore, Rainbow and Witchfinder General all clearly had a hand in the formation of this band’s sound sonically but the blood and boobs flowing out of Hammer Studios in the 60’s and 70’s clearly had an equally important role. In 2010 Nightbitch released their stellar debut EP, entitled Sex and Magic. They are back this month with a three song EP, released as a one-sided 12″, entitled Chainmaker. Two original tracks are combined with a ripping cover of Deep Purple’s “Into The Fire” (off of one of the greatest rock albums ever, In Rock). If you’re not throwing the horns and headbanging your ass off by the time these three songs are done you need to check to make sure your Metal Credentials haven’t expired (or were even validated to begin with).
The vinyl version of Chainmaker is set for a March 26 release on Ear One Productions in an effort to seek out a label for their upcoming full-length. Luckily for you can listen to the title track for free on the Nightbitch Bandcamp page.
Metal Homework
So speaking of out of control genres, let’s talk about Folk Metal for a second. Nowadays someone dropping a little Irish reel in the middle of a thrash song or busting out some 15th Century instruments no one but the History Channel has heard of is commonplace. However when England’s Skyclad released their debut album, The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth, it was not. Skyclad does not get nearly enough credit for the work they did to help formulate the modern day Folk Metal scene. Whether you are a fan or not I highly recommend you spend some time revisiting this album.
