Night Conquers Day - Rebellion is the Art of Survival (1999)

   As it was mentioned before, Americans having an unusual imagination about black metal. They are simply unable to distiguish the style from death metal influences, so it doesn't matter how hard they try, if they're starting to play black, it always ends up as black/death or melodic death.
   Lately there was some progression to find, like in the case of post black metal bands, but in that case the death metal influences were simply exchanged to something else, so it's still not succeeded, but got closer to the main concept. However in the very depths of underground there have been some very rare exceptions, and one of them was Night Conquers Day. According to how late the style have reached the US (if we don't count less succesful tryings like Christ Inversion or Demonic Christ), the band could be called as the American forerunner of black metal. Though they also didn't play the style completely in it's raw, simple form, but more like a more sypmhonic, Dimmu Borgir influenced, more complex black. Their music counts extraordinary amongst the other US bands of the style. Already at first hearing it's evident that the musicians probably had some past, and therefore they had more to tell and to express, over the ordinary blackened themes and features. The atmoshere had similarly important role like usually in the style, and the sound fits completely. All songs are longer than 10 mins, so the band didn't lack productiveness either. But these songs are also not like the usual long symphonic blackened odes, their influences also having way more old school roots, like '80s heavy metal and Venom, and if any analogy have to be found with traditional Northern black, Bathory should be named instead of the Norwegian scene. They preferred middle speed with occasional speed ups, common theme switches and simple leading melodies that are getting subordinated or determined by the frequently returning atmospheric/symphonic effects. So the components of the concept are the same complex like the musical influences, and from this aspect the band reminds to how extreme styles were formed in South America. The band definitley had a unique approach and genuine imaginations.