Night Thieves - Battle Cry

Night Thieves

​Battle Cry
self-released; 2020

3.8 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Night Thieves is a rock band from London, UK that formed in late 2017 consisting of Jess Moyle (vocals), Paul Andrew (guitar), Rick Wall (bass) and Jamie Parker (drums). The band recently released Battle Cry.

They mention “Every story begins with chaos or adventure, which sets the theme and tone to the lyrics, and contains underlying messages prevalent/relevant to our current times.” I feel like that’s a pretty broad statement so I was trying to find specific topics in the lyrics. The lyrics however are broad so I wasn’t able to pick anything much more specific than that.

The music has a serious tone and is emotionally heavy. Bands like Evanescence, Linkin Park and Tool came to mind. Night Thieves come out of the gate with no build up on “Numero Uno.” The guitars are sometimes heavy and filled with distortion and other times serene and covered in reverb. I would say the drumming is consistently intense. The band does a good job exploring dynamics and I appreciated the performance all around. They sounded very tight and in the pocket.

Next up is “Battle Cry” and this is a song with a broad topic you can apply to myriad situations whether it’s getting ready to play in a volleyball game or trying to do a hundred push ups in a row. The song is pretty straightforward with a palatable verse and a more intense and rocking chorus as well as a breakdown.

They continue with “In This City (Say Never)” which perhaps brings a little levity to the overall vibe I was feeling. The chorus is heavy and intense but the verse felt fun and catchy in comparison. I enjoyed the juxtaposition.

“Stop. Start” felt very motivated when it came to lyrics. The song rocks hard but is certainly dynamic with a lot of transitions to keep the song moving.

​Overall, I felt this was a mix of pop/hard rock and metal. This is a strong debut and I think fans of some of the aforementioned will appreciate the energy the band brings to the table.

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