Night Viper Mix Thrash and Trad Metal to Great Effect in “No Escape”

Old school thrash and traditional heavy metal have been mixed in too many permutations and combinations in recent years to count; both genres — already old and tired — have produced little of note since their renaissance in the mid-late ’00s.

That’s why hearing a band like Night Viper come on the scene in 2017 is so refreshing. Finally, a new band mining old tropes in fresh, creative ways! What immediately jumps out at me about the band’s latest single, “No Escape,” is the production; it’s incredibly dry, with single-tracked guitars left out in the open and drums free of reverb, gates or really anything at all. Sofia Lee’s vocals are the perfect match for the band’s tight, angular attack, big and powerful without coming across as shrill or crass. The combination of it all mixes everything we already love about both Iron Maiden and Megadeth, but in a way that sounds wholly modern and novel.

Night Viper’s debut album Exterminator comes out tomorrow, October 20th, via Listenable Records; pre-order it here. Catch them on tour in Europe in November and December; dates below.

16.11 – Stockholm – Geronimo´s FGT
18.11 – Gothenburg – Truckstop Alaska
01.12 – Hamburg – Bambi Galore (*)
02.12 – Berlin – Urban Spree (*)
03.12 – Leipzig – Zoro (*)
04.12 – Prague – modra vopice
05.12 – Wien – escape-metalcorner
06.12 – Budapest – Durer Kert
07.12 – Linz – Kapu
08.12 – Wurzburg – Immerhin (*)
09.12 – Kassel – Goldgrube (*)
10.12 – Tilburg – Little Devil
11.12 – Oldenburg – MTS

(*) with Indian Nightmare