EPK – Nightwraith – Divergence (2024) – Out Sept 13th

[Album Download Cover | Download Album Lyrics]

The artwork was done by our talented friend Jef Kopp who is a renowned tattoo artist, and fantastic human. It is drawn by hand, with colored pencil, permanent marker, watercolor marker, and paint, and it captures some really bleak and post-apocalyptic feelings. We use the Greek god Pan as the centerpiece for many of our albums and merch designs, as he’s become a mascot of sorts for our band. The vision for the album artwork was for Pan to be in the future, taking stock of the wasteland that humanity has created, but offering a glimmer of hope that the course can still be corrected. This ties in with our band philosophy that music does make the world a better place, and unites all of us as people.

About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY)

Musically, the songs on ‘Divergence’ often utilize classic songwriting structures (verse/chorus/bridge/lead). Each individual instrument is not overly complicated, but when layered on top of each other, the music has a lot of depth. Even with the guitars, we always try to play different chord voicings to create a fatter tone. This might not even be very perceptible unless you were to break it down in the mix, then you could hear that each guitar is playing similar notes but at different neck and fret positions. The drums are fast with lots of big rock fills and the choice to use fast double bass and blast beats was meant to give the album a driving, more ‘classic’ metal sound. The keyboards/synthesizer tones are the icing on the cake and are what really color the album in a nostalgic-sounding way. The melodies that were written to lay on top of the guitars are what give the songs the musical complexity that can be rare within the heavy metal genre. There are also a lot of solos on this album, but none of them are overly ‘shreddy’ and are meant to serve the song, not the player. We also stepped up the production on this album by recruiting some talented guest musicians to contribute and added extra rhythmic layers using acoustic guitar and percussive instruments like cowbells and shakers. Then we stepped up the production again by involving producer Zack Ohren (Machine Head, Immolation) to mix and master the project, which gave it a top-shelf-sounding production quality!

Lyrically, I feel like I really put myself out there and I did not hold anything back. At times it seems like our world is crumbling, for many reasons, and the lyrics are an honest representation of the frustration many of us feel. But there is also the element of hope and positivity, which is a unifying theme between the lyrics of all NightWraith songs. I feel that if I only aired grievances without offering any solutions, then I’m just complaining and that is not very helpful. Although real solutions could be a tough pill to swallow for many people, this is the risky part of saying what you really feel since it leaves you open to criticism. But I don’t give a fuck about that anymore, so I’ll say what I want to say. People kill each other over religious ideals, so embrace a Godless way of life. Technology is destroying our mental health so put down the phone and re-establish a relationship with nature. The environment is falling apart so stop eating animals. Capitalism doesn’t work for everyone so try to help the people around you. This is along the lines of what I mean, and are all themes that are touched on in the lyrical content of ‘Divergence’.

Track by track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY)

Fruitless: this might be one of our most musical songs because it has multiple key modulations and a proggy bridge section. We felt it was a good opener to the album because it’s not overly aggressive, has a chorus that’s easy to sing along with, but still has blast beats. It’s a good overall representation of the sound of ‘Divergence’ and foreshadows what can be expected in the rest of the songs. There is also a short clean vocal section in the bridge with one of my favorite lines on the record: “We’re better off, skeptical and Godless.” This ties into the lyrical theme of the album, that after years of spiritual searching, we have only found it through music and not any type of religion or deity. I’m sure plenty of people can relate to this feeling which is why I wanted to write about it. There is also a Rudolf Steiner quote during the bridge that helps button up the lyrical concepts around natural law and ancient wisdom.

Perpetual Night: this song could be the most ‘classic NightWraith’ song on the album, it’s got it all! It has a catchy black metal sound to it, a dynamic bridge section that brings the energy way down and picks back up with back-to-back guitar/keyboard solos, plus the chorus is fun to sing along with. Lyrically, this song is about how our global society is kind of blindly going all-in on technology, and how we should maybe take a step back and re-establish a connection to nature. In my experience, I get much more meaning from life through the physical world around us, and not through the dopamine-driven logic of tech. The lyrics also explore what our world might look like if we continue down this path, which is the overarching theme of the album: “Colorless dreams in perpetual night”.

One Flower: this song wins the award for most solos! The bridge section, also has one of my favorite guitar riffs on the entire album, which captures a cool 80s kind of vibe. There are killer back-to-back guitar solos and a really fitting saxophone solo performed by the talented Andreas Wild of The Night Sweats. Lyrically, this is probably the most pissed and anarcho-punk out of all the songs, as it’s mostly about the many failures of capitalism. Additionally, the lyrics were inspired by a publication titled ‘Expect Resistance’ where the forward highly encourages anyone to plagiarize or reproduce the contents with or without citing the sources, so I am definitely not the first person to use these analogies. But for all of the frustrations expressed in the lyrics, there is also an offering of hope: “Where one flower blooms, more will follow”. This theme of hope also ties into the album artwork, where you may notice a single flower growing in a pile of rubble.

Whispers of Dragonflies: this song really showcases our musical range, and has a cool ‘circular’ song structure which makes it really stand out on the album. The song kicks off with a John Carpenter-style synth intro. The main riff for the beginning/end of the song is very intense, and then the song has a dynamic shift to clean guitars that help the synth chords really shine through. The vocals go clean for this section too, but have enough grit on them to sound haunting. There is also a clean guitar solo, a rock fusion section with a synth interlude that sends you to outer space, and a lovely flute solo performed by our friend Kelly Schilling from the band Dreadnought. Lyrically, this is a poem I wrote about about an area in Colorado called the Lost Creek Wilderness. My Dad took me there for a multi-day backpacking trip when I was a kid, and the area completely blew my mind. I still return every few years and hike the same 25-mile loop I did with my Dad when I was young. It’s an inspiring area in the Pike National Forest and I highly recommend visiting if you ever have the means.

Invocation: this is an instrumental track and picks up where the song ‘Offering’ (from our previous album) leaves off. It’s interesting because this song takes the two main riffs from Offering and stacks them on top of each other, creating somewhat of a ‘movement’ and putting a fresh twist on the original parts. This song also starts with a proggy ‘King Crimson-esque’ keyboard solo, and ends with an incredible guitar solo performed by our friend Joey Truscelli from the band Wayfarer.

Fallen Kings and Queens: this song starts with a bang and goes directly into one of three verses that have a driving ‘NWOBHM’ cadence to them. Between the bridge with harmonized guitars, the melodic chorus, and a 4 bar drum solo, this is definitely the ballad on the album. Lyrically, this is our most emotional song because it’s written for some friends of ours who are no longer with us. There are three verses in this song, each written for an inspirational Denver artist whose life was tragically cut short. The goal was to use this as a way for us to personally heal from these losses, but non-specific enough that a listener could also apply the meaning to any fallen loved ones in their lives. Guest vocals were performed by our friends Dan Phelps and Chuck French, who were both closely connected to the fallen.

Nothing Left to Lose: every NightWraith album has one song that falls within the umbrella of punk/hardcore, and this is that song! It includes a combination of riffs from the toolshed that needed a home, but they all work together perfectly. The chorus riff is actually a play on the main riff from ‘The Sentinal’ by Judas Priest, one of my all-time favorite Priest songs. The verses have one of the coolest-sounding drum sections on the record, and the bridge has an awesome half-time breakdown – but its also very melodic so it fits perfectly with the rest of the album. Lyrically, this one is pretty cynical. It’s about how being in bands for many years has been all-consuming and caused issues in other aspects of my life, namely relationships and jobs. As pessimistic as the lyrics are they certainly ring true, and anyone in a band or in the music industry can probably relate. There’s a line in the song that reinforces an unhealthy stereotype about artists, but it’s fitting: “the best songs occur when we’re tortured”.

Divergence: musically, this song is our most cinematic sounding, which is why it is the title track of the album. It starts with a rhythmic verse that is followed by a huge blues guitar lick. This sets the stage for the second act of the song which is an arrangement of super melodic chords on top of some furious blasting. There is an awesome rhythmic section that we lovingly refer to as the ‘Deftones’ riff, then a break in the song that includes an auxiliary percussion section performed by our friend (and Abhoria bandmate) Jeremy Portz. Our drummer’s kiddo Xander also recorded some bongos on this percussion section, and it was really cool having a new generation involved! The end of the song has a super climactic synth section with blast beats underneath it, again lending to the cinematic quality of this track. Since this song is divided into two halves, the lyrics represent two possible paths that humanity could go down in regard to technology, specifically AI. If this technology is left unchecked, it could have disastrous consequences for everyone. This also ties into the cover art which represents the destruction of humanity and civilization, and is even represented by the ½ and ½ color vinyl scheme. It’s not all doom and gloom though, there’s still time to unify as people and put some guardrails in place. This might also be a good time to mention that this album was 100% written and produced by humans, no AI whatsoever was used in the making of this record!

1: NightWraith has over 100 years of combined musical experience because we’re all old haha!

2: One time someone tried to break into our van through the side window, but the joke was on them because the door was busted and did not open! Unfortunately, we had an out-of-town show a few days later, and the exhaust system clogged up on our way home. So we were moving at a max speed of 35 mph all the way home, with a broken window, at night, in the dead of winter. It was so cold that Igor and Caleb had to pull out the emergency blanket to stay warm, which was actually kind of adorable.

3: Ben and Spy used to play together in a legit Dethklok tribute band! And Joey (Wayfarer) who did the guitar solo on our song ‘Invocation’, was the ‘Swisgaar’ of the band and executed all of those leads not for note – super impressive!

4: Caleb has earned a doctorate in English literature, so technically there’s a Dr. in the band!

5: Igor runs several restaurants around Denver/Boulder named Quiero Aerepas, and serves authentic Venezuelan street food. Igor is also the only member who previously made a living as a professional musician – in South America!