In the late 70s, Blue Öyster Cult evolved from high priests of occult metal to golden gods of arena rock. The sound explored on such masterpieces as Agents of Fortune (1976) and Spectres (1977) is so hard to pin down, even all these decades later. Is it hard rock? Definitely. Metal? In parts. Pop? Yeah, the melodies are most certainly there. And while the psychedelic/progressive stylings of the first three BÖC albums were subdued to undertones, even Bloom, Dharma, and company couldn’t escape their clutches completely. The end result was a sound that could best be described as ethereal and incapable of capturing…until now.
Despite forming nearly a decade ago, I was late to the Night bandwagon. I didn’t discover them until last year at the recommendation of a Facebook friend who described their last album, Raft of the World (2017), as Fire of Unknown Origin worship. It didn’t take long to notice the similarity. Night really nailed the dark early 80s heavy metal/hard rock sound of Fire. Well if Raft was their Fire of Unknown Origin, High Tides – Distant Skies is their Spectres.
It makes sense the Golden Gate Bridge graces the cover of High Tides – Distant Skies. The whole album has a breezy, smooth, late 70s Californian vibe to it. The band’s sound is fully fleshed out by acoustic guitars, piano, echoey vocals. It’s the perfect contrast to the beefy riffs and molten leads on tracks such as the opening “Shadow Gold” and galloping “Here on My Own”. UFO and Thin Lizzy come to mind when hearing the guitar work, but with a much greater sense of atmosphere.
The only two songs that can truly be labeled metal are “Burning Sky” and “Give Me to the Night”. “Burning Sky” recalls early Judas Priest with its pounding drums and twin guitars, before interspersing a brief funky midsection that screams BÖC. Meanwhile, “Give Me to the Night” is the fastest and heaviest of this collection, boasting a breakneck pace characteristic of NWOBHM stalwarts, Diamond Head. Are Night evil? For three minutes and 20 seconds, yes they are.
The rest of High Tides – Distant Skies is the perfect soundtrack to an aimless late night drive through the Californian desert. “Burning Sky”, “Running Away”, and “Lost in a Dream” all have that dreamy quality heard on such BÖC opuses as “I Love the Night” and “Death Valley Nights”. Among the hard rock and pop qualities, I hear bits and pieces of various 70s giants throughout. The unabashed exploration of various styles within any given song remind me of early Toto, although that could just be because I’ve been on a Toto binge for the last two weeks. And the grand finale, “Under the Moonlight Sky”, is filled with elegant keys, lying somewhere between Kansas and Electric Light Orchestra.
Of the various accolades that can be bestowed upon Night, I’d label them “Most likely to appear on an episode of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert if they were around in the 70s”. High Tides – Distant Skies is one of the better and well executed examples of that old saying: “What’s old is new again.” I hope one day these Swedes make their way across the Atlantic to reintroduce the music that made booties shake, speakers quake, and Casey Kasem’s Top 40 countdown a weekly pastime.
8 out of 10
Label: The Sign Records
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: Blue Öyster Cult, Thin Lizzy, High Spirits