Friday 13 November. That's the day Night In Gales release their new album, and that evening they play a venue with only one more night of concerts left after theirs. For a record called "Bitter Harvest", you could hardly pick a better date.
The band that brought the Swedish sound
Night In Gales are regarded as the first German band to play the classic Swedish death metal sound: razor-sharp melodies over death metal heft, the kind you otherwise only heard out of Gothenburg back then. They formed in 1995 in Voerde on the Lower Rhine, and their demo "Sylphlike" sold around 7,000 copies. Two albums on Nuclear Blast followed, along with tours with In Flames, Hypocrisy, Children Of Bodom and Death. Then came label changes, line-up changes and a long break. Since the comeback, Dan Swanö has mixed their records, and since 2024 Fredrik Nordström has been their producer, on the last four releases: "Shadowreaper", the 2025 re-recording of "Sylphlike", "The Iron Maiden" and "Bitter Harvest". Since 2016 the vocals are back with Christian Müller, who also sang on the demo. With the brothers Jens and Frank Basten on guitar and Tobias Bruchmann on bass, four of the five founders are on stage. Adriano Ricci plays drums.
"Bitter Harvest" comes out on Apostasy Records, and the label counts it as the band's tenth studio album. It has nine songs, from "The Great Abyss" to "Sirens Fade", with cover art painted by Paolo Girardi. The theme is the consequences of what humanity does, the bitter harvest of the title. Musically, the label promises more rock-driven riffs and plenty of hooks that recall "Towards The Twilight" and "Thunderbeast", the two Nuclear Blast albums from the nineties.
👉 Pre-order now: CD at EMP | Vinyl at EMP | Vinyl at Impericon
The Eventground turns off the lights
The Eventground on Bundesallee has to close. 13 and 14 November are its last concert weekend, which the venue announces with three exclamation marks: „Das letzte Konzertwochenende bei uns!!!“ (our last concert weekend!!!). Two nights, eight bands, with doors at 18:30 and the first band at 19:30 both times. Day and weekend tickets are on sale through wuppertal-live.de. After that there's just one final evening on 21 November, from 20:00.
Friday belongs to the Night In Gales release show. Joining them are three bands from NRW:
Saturday is the actual farewell, and it sounds more melodic:
Saturday is a home game in Meiderich
Night In Gales won't be in Wuppertal on Saturday. They head to Duisburg instead, and from Voerde to Meiderich is less than 30 kilometres. At Evil Horde Fest II in the Parkhaus Meiderich they're practically playing at home, on a heavier bill than Friday's:
Doors open at 18:00 and the first band starts at 19:00. Advance tickets cost 18 euros plus fees and are ordered through the form on the Parkhaus website. At the door it's 22 euros, cash only. The room only holds around 120 people, so if you want in, don't wait until Saturday.
Both Night In Gales nights are the first chance to buy the new album merch. With a bit of luck, a few of the strictly limited album editions will still be left too. Anyone who wants both on Saturday has to choose: the farewell in Wuppertal or the home game in Meiderich.
