WHITE TOWER – Night Hunters (Album Review)

Arise, mighty skeleton hunters of the night!

If the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal could be boiled down to a single mission statement, it would assumedly be to recapture the same lightning in a bottle that had occurred back in the 80s. Whether or not the movement has been successful at this grand endeavor is naturally in the eye of the beholder, but sometimes a band opts to perform the seemingly impossible feat of capturing the electrical bolts raining down during a mighty storm by erecting a massive metallic tower towards the overcast sky.

This is how the Greek old-school metal quintet dubbed White Tower can be best described, a mighty and fully fortified tower reaching towards the heavens for the sole purpose of capturing the discharged energy of a supercell and projecting its might onto the masses below, hence the explosive sophomore LP bearing their moniker in 2024’s “Night Hunters.”

Much like several recent Hellenic bands tied to the old-school thrash revivalist scene, this fold takes heavy cues from the Teutonic metal scene in their adopted sub-genre. The grit and muscle of Grave Digger the riff-happy speed and bluster of Rage, and the old-school sensibilities of Accept are melded into a melting pot of tempered steel and unleashed in the form of 11 harrowing anthems that blur the lines between heavy, thrash, power and speed metal to the point of being all 4 at once.

Equally as compelling is the prowess of each member within the fold, as the thunderous battery of the rhythm section provided by kit destroyer Theodoros Trohidis and the active bottom end delivered up by bassist Nick Vekis ride in perfect synchronicity with the pummeling riff work of Orestis Koulas and the nimble melodic and solo work of Nikos Patronopoulos, whom effortlessly rivals the majestic handiwork of Herman Frank and Uwe Lulis at every turn. Although, the most dynamic and pivotal role in this metallic passion play is put on by vocalist Gago Karapetian, who is the ideal hybrid of Halford and Dirkschneider in their respective youths manifest in the flesh.

The ebb and flow of this album consists primarily of the latter and very little of the former, as this is an album built primarily off of adrenalized fury with few opportunities for respite. Following a brief exposition and build-up of tension in the form of “Blood”, which is essentially a more horrific-sounding homage to Priest‘s “The Hellion”, all hell proceeds to break loose. Like a proverbial freight train from the pits of perdition, the blistering speed metal machine “Total Evil” blitzkriegs its way into the mix like a mad thrashing berserker, listening almost like the answer to the hypothetical question of what Udo would sound like fronting a thrash band.

Its immediate successor and title entry “Night Hunters” plays in the same territory and even ups the ante in the technical department between the blurring drum work and shrieking lead guitar episodes. Other wild cruisers like “Knife In The Back”, “Warmonger” and “Malice And Lust” reach similar peaks of intensity, raising questions as to whether this band has fully left the traditional territory for thrash land. Even when the tempo pulls back a tad like on the gallop-happy “Banshee” and the upper mid-paced cruiser “Early Warning”, the tone of things is well into the frenetic territory.

Despite being near the tail end of 2024, “Night Hunters” has all the makings of an album of the year contender both in the traditional metal category and just about every other one short of death and black metal. It hits every note with the weight of a 2-ton anvil and leaves an impression in much the same way as a massive meteorite upon a hapless plot of Earth.

Those who remember the days when Grave Digger and Running Wild bucked every trend in the 90s by releasing some of their most ferocious offerings in their respective careers, and especially those who remember the days when albums like Riot‘s “Thundersteel” and Judas Priest‘s “Painkiller” initially broke the boundaries that separates heavy metal from its faster and more fierce speed and thrash cousins, this is of a similar caliber and also comes with all the benefits of a mid-2020s production.

It rarely gets more metal than undead skeleton knights with glowing eyes rising up from a decrepit castle’s hall and the soundtrack that goes with the visual lives up to it at every single turn.

Released By: Independent
Release Date: December 6th, 2024
Genre: Old-School Heavy Metal / Thrash Metal

Musicians:

• Gago Karapetian / Vocals
• Orestis Koulas / Guitars
• Nikos Patronopoulos / Guitars
• Nick Vekis / Bass
• Theodoros Trohidis / Drums

“Night Hunters” Track-Listing:

1. Blood
2. Total Evil
3. Night Hunters
4. Knife In The Back
5. Banshee
6. Tear Up The Night
7. Warmonger
8. Early Warning
9. Masters of Menace
10. Enforcer
11. Malice and Lvst