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Nocturna (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Nocturne (band).

Nocturna
Grace Darkling and Rehn Stillnight at the "Scarlet Records Fest"
Background information
OriginItaly
GenresPower metal, symphonic metal, gothic metal
Years active2021 (2021)–present
LabelsScarlet Records
Members
  • Grace Darkling
  • Rehn Stillnight
  • Antares
  • Deimos
  • Hedon

Nocturna is an Italian symphonic power metal band,[1] founded in 2021 by Grace Darkling, Rehn Stillnight and Federico Mondelli. They have released two albums, Daughters of the Night and Of Sorcery and Darkness. Their single "New Evil" surpassed the million views in Youtube in a pair of months, and the production of the new album was difficulted by the COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy.

History

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Grace Darkling (real name Greta Cangelosi) studied at the CPM Music Institute, and provides vocal coaching.[2] Rehn Stillnight (real name Serena Zaffaroni) is a soprano vocalist, and also works as an alternative goth model.[3] Both of them were front singers of the band StarWards; they left it because of conflicts with the other members.[3] They met Federico Mondelli, from Frozen Crown, in 2021, and started a new band with him. The initial demos were all home-recorded as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy.[4] All other communications between the band members took place remotely, and the full band only met in person at the studio when recording the first album.[3] They signed a deal for several albums with Scarlet Records in 2021;[5] Mondelli got the deal because he was already in the label with Frozen Crown.[3] Soon after it both bands made a joint concert.[6] Their first single, New Evil, was released on October 2021, before the release of the full album Daughters of the Night,[7] and got more than a million views in a pair of months.[3] Mondelli was the director of the videoclip, as with the others.[3] The album is named after two characters described in the lyrics, who are fictionalized versions of Grace and Rehn, their shared history as friends and fictionalized descriptions of their failures at previous bands.[4] The other members of the band wear face-concealing masks and use stage names.[8] The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Andrea Fusini at Fusix Studio, with artwork by Rehn Stillnight.[9]

Nocturna at the Strigarium festival

The bad took part in the "Scarlet Records Fest" at the Legend Club, in Milan, by the end of 2022.[10] In February 2023 they made a concert in Bergamo with Hellfox and Deathless Legacy.[11] The next month they made an acoustic concert in the show where Frozen Crown released the album "Call of the North"; Grace and Rehn were invited by the band to play the songs "In the dark", "Across the sea", "Forever" and Helloween's cover "I Want Out".[12] Grace Darkling provided guest vocals for the song "I3" by Reasons Behind, in their 2023 album "Architecture of an ego".[13]

The band released the single "Seven Sins" in February 2024. It was released ahead of the second album, "Of sorcery and darkness", released on 19 April, also by Scarlet Records.[14] The production of the album was focused on the voices of Rehn and Grace, to make them clearly distinguishable.[15] The album was recorded and mixed by Andrea Fusini at Fusix Studio. Rehn Stillnight made the artwork and illustrations. The fourth single of the album is "Creatures of Darkness.[16] In the following tours they closed the Strigarium festival alongside death metal band Ulvedharr.[17]

Members

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Current members

  • Grace Darkling - Vocals (2021-present)
  • Rehn Stillnight - Vocals (2021-present)
  • Antares - Bass (2021-present)
  • Deimos - Drums (2021-present)
  • Hedon - Guitars (2021-present)

Discography

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  • Daughters of the night (2022)
  • Of sorcery and darkness (2024)

Reviews

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Rehn Stillnight
Daughters of the night

Checo Mejia from "The Dark Melody" considers that the sound of the band is not original, and rather similar to Nightwish and Frozen Crown, but that it can be enjoyed nonetheless. In particular, he considers that the vocal range of Grace Darkling is similar to Frozen Crown's Giada Etro, and that the soprano Rehn Stillnight sounds similar to Tarja Turunen. Although the guitarist wears a mask and goes under the pseudonym "Hedon", Mejia recognizes the signature style of Frozen Crown's Federico Mondelli. He praises the contrast between the two voice styles, and the songs "Blood of heaven" and "Daughters of the night". He points out that symphonic metal bands usually play ballads, and among those he prefers "The sorrow path" and "Sea of Fire", which combines ballads with power metal. He also liked the closing song "The trickster", which he considers and homage to Nightwish.[18]

Grace Darkling
Of sorcery and darkness

Oz Ga from "The Dark Melody" admits that he liked the first album and was awaiting the new one. In general, he praises the creative talent of Hedon, the vocalists, the atmosphere of the album, the melodies, and the visual style of the band. He likes both the energy of the first song "Burn the witch" and the slower symphonic metal of "Sapphire", although he found the song a bit short. "Noctis Avem" follows the same style, and "Creatures of darkness" returns to the power metal style, but keeping the symphonic influences, in a way similar to Xandria. "First disobedience" is an interlude track, which leads to the single "Seven sins", a song with several changes of speed. "Through the maze" is a slow song, and Oz Ga considers that Hedon is trying new styles with it. He disliked the final songs "Strangers" and "Last day on Earth", which he found similar to the mainstream style of Evanescence.[19]

Jennifer Richter from "Dark Divas" says that the lyrics of the songs make a good combination with the music style. He points that the connection between both singers can be felt, but that they also showcase their individual skills in "Sapphire", a song with influences of Nightwish and Savatage. She considered the single "Seven Sins" to be the most memorable track of the album.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gossen, Stephan (19 February 2024). "Nocturna: Details zum neuen Album und erste Single online - News". Metal1.info (in German). Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Grace darkling". Shield Maidens of Metal. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Stillnight, Rehn (January 2022). "Nocturna" (Interview). Interviewed by Jeffrey. Metalfan. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b Miriam Cadoni (10 October 2022). "NOCTURNA – An interview with Rehn Stillnight and Grace Darkling". Femme Metal. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  5. ^ "NOCTURNA: deal with Scarlet Records". Femme Metal. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  6. ^ "FROZEN CROWN ANNOUNCE FIRST LIVE SHOW IN TWO YEARS; REASON BEHIND AND NOCTURNA CONFIRMED AS SUPPORT". Brave Words. 26 December 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  7. ^ "NOCTURNA: new music video". Femme Metal. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  8. ^ Andy Barker (21 January 2022). "Nocturna – Daughters Of The Night (Scarlet Records)". Ave Noctum. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Nocturna Conjures Up "Seven Sins" – The Brand New Single From Upcoming Album "Of Sorcery And Darkness"". Shield maidens of metal. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  10. ^ Jennifer Carminati (29 December 2022). "Live Report: Scarlet Records Fest 2022 @ Legend Club, Milano – 28/12/2022 – Day 1" (in Italian). True Metal. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  11. ^ Benedetta Baldin (26 February 2023). "Darkness will conquer us all – Deathless Legacy live in Bergamo". Chaoz Zine. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. ^ Benedetta Baldin (13 March 2023). "First-rate power metal for Frozen Crown's "Call of the North" release party". Chaos Zine. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. ^ "REASONS BEHIND Premiere 'Seas Of Grey' Music Video". Metal Forces. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  14. ^ "NOCTURNA RELEASES "SEVEN SINS" VIDEO". Brave Words. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  15. ^ Stillnight, Rehn; Darkling, Grace (May 2024). "Nocturna Interview (Grace Darkling & Rehn Stillnight) – 05/24" (Interview). Interviewed by Darth. Shield Maidens of Metal. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  16. ^ "NOCTURNA - "CREATURES OF DARKNESS" MUSIC VIDEO STREAMING". Brave Words. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  17. ^ Benedetta Baldin (22 May 2024). "Nocturna to play at the last day of Strigarium". Fem Metal. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  18. ^ Checo Mejia (14 January 2022). "NOCTURNA – Daughters of The Night 🇮🇹 (Album Review)" (in Spanish). The Dark Melody. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  19. ^ Oz Ga (18 April 2024). "NOCTURNA – Of Sorcery And Darkness (Album Review)" (in Spanish). The Dark Melody. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  20. ^ Jennifer Richter (21 April 2024). "Nocturna – Of Sorcery and Darkness". Dark Divas. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
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