Nightfall Premiere New Album ‘Children of Eve’

Like their brothers-in-arms, Nightfall sculpt towering gothic melodies from blackened slabs of death metal. Children of Eve is blessed with the mightiest choruses in the band’s formidable history. Their new album was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen, who’s helped Volbeat, Amaranthe and The Black Dahlia Murder crank their metallic fury to arena levels.  Lead single “I Hate” seethes with blast beats from ex-Septicflesh drummer Fotis Benardo that flow with all the fire and fury of the River Styx.”I think the first two things that anybody who listens to this record will say is that it’s heavy and it’s epic”, A&P Reacts says.

Children of Eve will have the heshers headbanging, but it wouldn’t bear the mark of Nightfall if it didn’t possess a powerful message. Read the tracklist out loud and it’s clear that living under the Eastern Orthodox Church for the past three decades has only stoked the band’s fiery disdain for overzealous rulers. “Anger was the root”, Efthimis says when asked what birthed their new album. “Faith is a personal matter, but it can become a dirty business”. Guitarist Kostas Kyriakopoulous leads the charge on “Seeking Revenge” with riffs that pound like an army of horses.

While Nightfall’s latest rebellion was spurred by the ongoing rise around the globe of so-called “holy wars”, the message behind Children of Eve is deeply personal. When the band retreated amongst the shadows during their 2010’s hiatus, Efthimis was diagnosed with depression. He now wears a black mask that covers half of his face to show what it’s like to live under the invisible veil of mental illness.“Mental illness can lead to self-isolation”, says Efthimis, a stigma he’s now fighting through Metal Music against Depression, a new initiative that he’ll be speaking about during his two upcoming panels at Athens Music Week. With its blood-pumping chorus, “The Cannibal” bites back at how religious dogma can eat you alive from the inside.

“I own a field / Inside your mind“, Efthimis foams at the mouth, as if driven mad by the angel on his shoulder. “That’s where the guilt / It’s rooted deep“.

“This is a manifesto of suffering and anger against the chains imposed by sacred scripture – whether real or imagined”, writes All Father Metal. “What is evil? What is good?”.

Nightfall will always hold the title as the first Greek metal band to ever play Wacken Open Air, but it’s been too long since the band took the stage by storm. Now, finally, they’re ready to bless the masses with Children of Eve. This weekend, they’re celebrating the arrival of their new album in front of their faithful following at the 10th annual Horns Up Festival in Trikala, Greece. Later this summer, they’ll set upon Romania for a Dark Bombastic Evening.  The album’s grand finale, “Christian Svengali”, is bound to drive its message home with fists raised to the rafters.

“I love how this album came out”, Efthimis says. “We’re excited to play these songs live. The sound is massive. The choruses are huge. And there’s a message that comes through”.

More advanced praise for Children of Eve
“…the most mature and complete Nightfall album” – Metal War“Greek musical culture permeates the album, with melancholy-laced riffs echoing the majesty of Manos Hadjiakis, particularly in “The Makhaira of the Deceiver” – Metal Kaoz

“angry, evil, powerful and epic…Children of Eve is a contender for Album of the Year” – Metal Only

“Although immersed in the digital age, Nightfall have managed to instill the work with the characteristic and fundamental warmth that has always distinguished the Greek scene” – True Metal

I Hate (6:05) The Cannibal (3:36) Lurking (4:08) Inside My Head (4:51) Seeking Revenge (3:47) For The Expelled Ones (5:07) The Traders of Anathema (3:15) With Outlandish Desire to Disobey (3:25) The Makhaira of the Deceiver (4:21) Christian Svengali (4:43)