NIGHTBLAZE – Nightblaze (2024) *HQ*
Art Of Melody Music & Burning Minds Music Group are releasing the debut album by NIGHTBLAZE, the new Italian AOR promise. Nightblaze began in 2021 as the brainchild of composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Dario Grillo (Platens, Violet Sun), with the intent to create a solid, up-to-date sound with deep 80s melodic rock influences.
Rising Italian rock star, Damiano Libianchi (Perfect View), was hired on vocals, and the full line up was completed by the involvement of Dario’s brother, Alex Grillo (Platens, Violet Sun, Verdemela) on drums, and Federica Raschellà (Steel Tyrant, Evil Eyes) on bass.
The band’s self-titled CD “Nightblaze” sets a high bar for fresh melodic rock / AOR music in 2024, thanks to a collection of songs with infectious hooks, big vocals and a tight musicianship, all crafted in a bombastic Eighties-style production sound.
All the songs here have an unmistakable ’80s feeling. There’s three in a row that hit us hard.
‘You’re Gone’ has some excellent melody changes. It starts out with a strong, fast melody before retracting to a quieter verse. It builds in tempo in the bridge and then explodes with its chorus. It checks all the boxes: harmonies, higher key changes, the keyboards leading the way while the rest of the band supports. Everything I would want in an effective chorus.
If you know the Brother Firetribe track ‘Valerie’, then ‘Diana’ is the sister track. An uptempo rocker with a combination of elegance and electricity. A feel-good track that clicks all the right buttons with AOR catchiness.
Finally, there’s ‘Tell Me’, which continues the high energy of the album. While the verse and bridge are melodies heard before, the song pops with a choral melody that is outstanding. This feels like a track that could have appeared on Toto’s Isolation album.
While all the songs are infectious and have lots of stamina, a little variation in the rhythm would have been appreciated. Most of the tracks have a similar time signature, with the exception of last track ‘Daughter’, a beautiful, piano-based ballad about a father writing a letter to his daughter just before he passes. It sounds depressing but lead singer Damiano Libianchi injects it with a sense of optimism and the need to go on with life.
While we have the aforementioned favorites, all the songs here are consistently good from track to track. It’s high energy, melodic rock done with a passion and drive plus AOR sensibility that is sure to please fans of the genre.
Would love to see what the future holds for this band. A truly talented bunch.
Highly Recommended
01 – Sudden Blast
02 – Take On Me
03 – You’re Gone
04 – Diana
05 – Tell Me
06 – Hold On To Me
07 – Carry On
08 – Fading Away
09 – Fragments Of Time
10 – Daughter
Damiano Libianchi: Lead Vocals
Dario Grillo: Guitars, Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Federica Raschellà: Bass
Alex Grillo: Drums
Pre order:
www.amazon.co.uk/Nightblaze/dp/B0CS1H24GC
