Nightingale - I
Black Mark
Progressive Rock
11 songs (43'12)
Release year: 2000
Nightingale, Black Mark
Reviewed by Milan
Archive review

I, Nightingale's third album, released in 2000, is actually the first part of a storyline that spans across four albums, with their first album The Breathing Shadow being the second part, their second album The Closing Chronicles being (despite what its title might suggest) the third part, and 2003's Alive Again being the final chapter of the story. For those not in the know, Nightingale is one of Dan Swanö's many projects, this time collaborating with his brother Dag, here credited as Tom Nouga. The first part of the aforementioned story (which I is about) in a nutshell goes something like this: A young boy flees from his abusive household in search of a better place to live, only to meet another boy with a surprisingly similar story. They decide to take their journey together and start challenging each other along the way to decide who is the strongest of the two. In one of these challenges the other boy dies (the main character is referred to as "I") and his spirit comes back to haunt our protagonist. It's an interesting story and thankfully it's backed by terrific songs as well.

When one thinks about Dan Swanö, the first band that pops in your head would probably be Edge of Sanity. Don't expect any death metal here though, this is pure, catchy 70's AOR with a progressive twist. This becomes clear from the first second as opener Scarred for Life starts out with old school riffing and an organ in the background leading up to an instantly memorable chorus and a terrific solo. Still in the Dark is even catchier than the previous track and should've been an instant blockbuster hit. One of the main reasons the songs instantly hit you is Swanö's vocal performance. The best evidence of this is album highlight Alonely, an absolutely gorgeous ballad about the protagonist feeling alone and utterly hopeless after the other boy has died. This is followed by I Return which, just like Alonely, starts out with beautiful acoustics until a groovy riff comes in with Swanö's fantastic voice on top leading up to yet another great chorus you'll be instantly singing along to (despite it's hardly cheerful lyrics). This is what makes the album so interesting: at times it's so incredibly catchy that it makes you forget how depressing the story truly is. Journey's End, the last track on the album (the closing instrumental not included), makes sure to erase any doubts and brings back the depressive atmosphere with the boy returning to the abusive household he decided to leave at the beginning of the album.

This is a highly recommended progressive rock album and a perfect starting point for anyone interested in discovering Nightingale's discography, especially since this is part one of the entire story. The storyline can hardly be called uplifting but, as mentioned before, the songs can be so catchy at times that you won't even notice. It's a terrific album, probably their best and it has me looking forward to their next one, whenever they decide to release it.

Killing Songs :
Scarred for Life, Still in the Dark, Alonely, I Return
Milan quoted 88 / 100
Other albums by Nightingale that we have reviewed:
Nightingale - White Darkness reviewed by Aleksie and quoted 89 / 100
Nightingale - Nightfall Overture reviewed by Ken and quoted 90 / 100
Nightingale - Alive Again reviewed by Ben and quoted 85 / 100
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