Nocturnal Worship:
From "PhilosophicalFrog" on Metal-Archives.com:
A friend of mine runs "Son of Man Records" and he told me that this new band just got done recording. He tells me their name is RISING HOUR, sounding like a faster DARKTHRONE. After a few listens though, I must say that this band sounds closer to SARGEIST (and that's a REALLY good thing if you read my review) than any other band. RISING HOUR's "Nocturnal Worship" is some of the best black metal I've heard since, well..........a long time.
The opening track, "Summoning the Holocaust" is fast furious and utter noise filled, a great track to begin the album with, although a bit misleading, as the vocals and the speed is much different than the rest of the album. This track has a great melodic riff, featuring some great palm mutes, change ups and sliding; really a great song. The next track is where the comparison to SARGEIST comes into play. "Beneath the Full Moon" has a phenomenal riff, utterly beautiful! The opening buzzing of the guitars and then the drums come in with mid paced double bass and quick cymbal/snare hits, coupled with this riff create a song of songs! I could listen to this track for the rest of my life and don't think I would get bored of it.
"In Flames of Glory Rides the Warlord" also features a fantastic riff, with great lead guitar work, groovy drumming and great vocals, which (as in the last track as well) are deeper, more like talking than the screaming of the first song. Normally this would sound awkward but here, it works so well and adds that much more to the album. The title track closes off the album with a slower, BURZUM-esque vibe to it, with pounding drums, slow vocals and drawn out riffs this is a great atmospheric way to close this fantastic album.
So spread the word, this is one of the darkest, bleakest black metal albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. And what the real kicker is, is that RISING HOUR is a Christian Band! Now if that isn't a kick in the pants to a lot of band out there I don't know what is. If you are Christian (as I am) and are looking for a more darker way of "praise" and are sick of the "Jesus Loves You" stuff on the radio than this is for you. Or if you are a black metal fan in general, Christian or not, you owe it to yourself to check this out, the atmosphere, vocals and awesome riffs will hook you in. Hail to RISING HOUR, and Hail to the Lord! For He now has some kick ass tunes in his name.
Nocturnal Worship:
From Christian Xtreme Metal.cjb.net:
"This here is one of my new cds. its from a band called Rising Hour which is Atmospheric Raw Black Metal and their new demo is really worth listening to and its called "Nocturnal Worship". The man behind this is a guy who calls himself Ephphatha and he does all the instruments (drum machine/singing/bass/guitar).
The first song is called "Summoning the Holocaust", which is a pretty cool song. I am not a real fan of the singing on this song which is not really black metalish but the instruments are pretty good and make up for it. The next song is by far the best song on this cd and its one of those songs that make you press the repeat button over over again until it breaks. the song is called "Beneath the Full Moon" and it starts off with a pretty cool guitar intro which is then joined by the other instruments to create a very atmospheric feel even though there are no keyboards or female vocals in it! a feat many bands can't do. The best part of the song is that it has a strong Christian message as it talks about Christ being our messiah. The vocals are much better and they are a really creepy echoy dark black metal style which stays with the rest of the album. Song 3 comes along and its called "In Flames Of Glory Rides The Warlord" (awesome title) its also a awesome song with another sweet intro. The pedals are more furious while the song itself is a little calmer than "Beneath the Full Moon". Pretty interesting song with cool beats and even a little surprise in the end. it seems like the song is ending but then its starts up again furious and with heavy pedals for a few more seconds. The closing song on this demo is called "Nocturnal Worship" which shares the albums name. its has more of a melodic intro and the singing does not start until over 2 minutes later. The song itself is almost 9 minutes long. Its mostly instrumental with a little bit of singing. its the slowest and softest of the songs but its still raw black metal so it is intense.
overall this is a awesome cd which anybody who likes raw black metal will love. the only thing is maybe he should get a real drummer instead of drum machines and a little less of the vocals of the first song. the instruments, vocals, and lyrics were awesome though. This demo is only 5 bucks on Son of Man records www.sonofmanrecords.tripod.com including shipping so its a sweet deal but they are limited so don't waste time."
Reviewed by Serpent Grinder