When it comes to power metal, there are only a handful of bands still sticking to a tradition of heavy, mind-melting riffs while also bringing their sound into the 21st century. NOCTURNAL RITES is one of those bands, and their eighth full-length, appropriately titled The 8th Sin, is rife with the kind of visceral energy that helped bring the genre to the forefront in the mid to late ‘80s.

The group recently posted the scathing new track, “Never Again,�? to their MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/nocturnalrites. Also, fans can now visit the band’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/noctv to view the new video for “Never Again,�? along with a slew of live performance clips and exclusive guitar lessons. Their stunning new album, The 8th Sin, is set for a June 5th release.

The band members themselves produced The 8th Sin, so there’s absolutely no filtering or dumbing-down here. From the opening track, “Call Out to the World,�? to closer “Fool’s Parade,�? the album is 100% NOCTURNAL RITES. Only these Swedes could pull off sounding bombastic and progressive without losing a bit of the cutting edge that makes them stand out from their Scandinavian brethren. With 11 unique and equally impressive tracks to choose from, the album offers plenty of material to sustain old fans and garner new ones as well.

Metal Maniacs described NOCTURNAL RITES as “the power metal band for people who don’t like power metal,�? and while this statement is only partially true, it does reflect the band’s evolution in sound. While they quickly progressed from death to speed metal, it was with power metal that the band found their musical talents most useful. Above all, The 8th Sin is proof of that perfect evolution.

Definitely one of my favorite power metal bands. I will probably be getting this.