Following the demise of AT THE GATES, Tomas Lindberg’s eventual resurfacing in a host of bands invoked such a buzz of excitement that unfortunately, most of the records never lived up to the hype. THE CROWN’s Crowned in Terror was blistering but mediocre. THE GREAT DECEIVER’s A Venom Well Designed had a fresh sound but the songs and performance were flat. LOCK UP’s Hate Breeds Suffering was tight but uninspired. And well, DISFEAR we’re still waiting to hear from. Now NIGHTRAGE comes creeping along with their full-length debut and Mr. Lindberg’s much desired voice-from-hell in tow. Sadly, Sweet Vengeance is incredibly sour. It makes the aforementioned albums sound like AT THE GATES-echelon classics all over again! NIGHTRAGE’s sound is made up of lackadaisical, rehashed Swedish metal riffs gone afoul…particularly C-rate Jesper Strömblad (IN FLAMES, DIMENSION ZERO) riffs. In places the album bares a strinking resemblance to DIMENSION ZERO’s horrid Silent Night Fever album. In fact, everything they’ve written, we’ve heard before. Forget who’s in the band…Sweet Vengeance is painfully contrived. Death metal this is not…torturous metal this is. (Century Media)