Night Verses – Every Sound has a Color in the Valley of Night

Sequels in the media these days have a bad rep: quick, lazy cash grabs, you name it. However, in progressive music, a band has to have an album called “Part 2” (Or “Book 2”, if you are into wizards) to be considered True Prog.

An American now-instrumental progressive metal trio Night Verses released a part 2 of “Every Sound has a Color in the Valley of Night”(try saying that three times) in March 2024, following up after releasing Part 1 in 2023, which is a move that you don’t often see in music, as Part 2 was, in fact, just the second half of the album, with the same art, rather than being a separate release.

The focus of this review will be mostly on Part 2, as the band intended, leaving it on a ‘Seance’ cliffhanger last year, featuring none other than Justin Chancellor(Tool).

‘Seance’ was a rather mellow and melodic ellipsis, leaving me wondering what Part 2 will bring. ‘Plague Dancer’, however, picked up the pace, bringing back the “going from 1 to 11 and back” energy for the sequel. Generally, Part 2 has a few vocal features, which is unusual for the band. There are two of them on the album, and they definitely feel different from the instrumentals, as the vocals are on the forefront. Both Brandon Boyd(Incubus) in ‘Glitching Prisms’ and Anthony Green(Circa Survive) in ‘Slow Dose’ added new flavours to Night Verses music, even though it’s at the expense of the instrumental part, as the band takes a back seat on those tracks.

Night Verses are masters of creating the soundscapes, and it’s all thanks to the incredibly talented musicians. Nick DePirro created his very own unique style of guitar playing, combining the heavy overloaded thundery riffs with beautiful, almost flamenco-style clean parts; Aric Improta creates fantastic grooves, which are very technical, but also flow nicely with the rest of the instruments; Reilly Herrera’s bass lines are masterfully crafted to add the flavours to the sound and are not lost in the composition.

The best example of the band’s composition and creativity is the final track, ‘Phoenix V’, the successor of ‘Phoenix IV’ from the band’s previous outstanding album, From the Gallery of Sleep. The song goes from the trademark Night Verses riffs, with remarkable overdriven parts, to more rhythmic section, continues with quiet section with, what I think is, bongos and then, after a spoken word part, it hits you hard with extremely heavy overdriven riffs, which reminded me of band Pelican who are also known for such sound. Overall the song is a rollercoaster of emotions, and the most remarkable track on the Part 2.

Part 2 turned out to be as captivating as part 1, with a lot of remarkable tracks, such as ‘Åska’ with very tasty melodic guitars, both tracks with vocals were refreshing, ‘Crystal X’ with fast pacing, which was a nice surprise, and of course, ‘Phoenix V’, the Grand Finale. Combined with a head-bopper ‘Arrival’, very heavy hitting ‘Karma Wheel’ and beautiful, post-rocky ‘Love in A Liminal Space’ from Part 1, the album overall is a must listen for the instrumental prog lovers. Not only that: this album can interest the Thall(djent) enjoyers, Tool fans, and even flamenco enjoyers. I kept going back to this album, the same way I did with From the Gallery of Sleep, which is a good sign. Night Verses is truly something special, and I invite you along for the ride.

Track List:
Part 1:

1. 8 Gates Of Pleasure
2. Arrival
3. Rose Wire
4. Karma Wheel
5. Love In A Liminal Space
6. Bound To You
7. Séance feat. Justin Chancellor

Part 2:

1. Plague Dancer
2. Åska feat. Author & Punisher
3. Glitching Prisms feat. Brandon Boyd
4. Desire To Feel Nothing
5. Crystal X
6. Slow Dose feat. Anthony Green
7. Phoenix V: Invocation