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It feels like only yesterday since Mark Crosby and I were speaking about Nightblade’s last album ‘Unknown Territories’, their follow-up to 2020’s ‘Ignorance is Bliss’. The truth of the matter is… it almost was! The Nightblade mission over the last few years, since lockdown and the pandemic took hold, was to deliver a trilogy of albums over the space of three years. Strangely, if this was the 1980s, this would be nothing unusual. You only have to look back at the golden era rock music to see bands like Saxon delivery an album a year if not more frequently. It’s an objective that the band set themselves, to get, as Mark explains, something out of the downtime. Having sufficient content that could actually be spread across three albums was enough of a challenge but to actually make it work, and cut all three of them, one year apart, was a real pipe dream. The end result, in Mark’s opinion, sees album number three, ‘Hope To Be There’, as a great end to the trilogy.

“We’re really, really, really pleased with the album. I can’t say what others think because we haven’t had any reviews for this yet, but we have stepped it up this time for the last album in the trilogy. Of the last two, ‘Unknown Territories’ got great reviews and our manager is saying this is a step up again. So, it’s a very in fitting and pleasing end to the trilogy. We’ve also enlisted another guitarist which enhances our sounds further. We’re now a five-piece.”

The expansion of the band comes in the form of Chris Seldon, a player who, according to the band, brings a new edge to the music, and adds, which I have to acknowledge, a different dimension to the Nightblade sound.

On latest album ‘Hope To Be There’ that new sound makes its presence known from the off on opening track ‘Erratic’ which provides the hookiest, catchiest guitar work which forces, nay, demands that you press the repeat play button before moving on. It is, as the reviewers say, an absolute banger and is almost too worthy of being the opening song.

“We like to do quite a fast pace at times,” says a smiling Mark. “If you like, excuse the pun, it could be described as an erratic song. There is a certain method that we use to compile an album, in that we always do a nuts fast-paced one, but we’ll also play a grungy one. We might do a quirky one as well and we find that it starts to form a pattern as to how the album is compiled. It’s also how we approached the other two as well.”

The approach, the willingness to avoid being pigeonholed into a particular genre, means that the band can present a bit of rock, a slice of punk, a soupçon of grunge and a nod back to the band’s heavier days without anything feeling out of place. Nightblade are, without forcibly doing so, creating their own distinctive style which in this day and age is difficult to achieve.

“All of the underlining reviews to date are stating that Nightblade don’t sound like a particular band, and it keeps repeating throughout. We are getting some nice reviews, but I think it is a little bit hard to compare us to anyone out there. I think our influences are derived from a lot of different sources. Obviously, the album needs some fl ow, but it makes for an interesting album when you do that. We think and hope and feel it will be received well.”

To give you a sense of what this album contains, you can hear some Manic Street Preachers in there, but also Alice In Chains, maybe a slice of Pearl Jam. Tack onto that some classic US punk stylings as well ‘for the frantic element’ and you have an album that will surely generate some interest, pique the imagination, and make you want to check out the band. For those that already own previous Nightblade albums they have yet another reason to revisit the band because once more, something new and exciting is on the table.

“Someone,” says Mark with a sigh, “someone even said we had a little bit of goth in the music. Pick a genre,” he adds laughing. “It’s OK to keep people guessing, you know? When you used to get, God rest his soul, a new Motörhead album, let’s face it, let’s be honest, you knew what you were going to get, you knew exactly how it was going to sound. There is an air of predictability about rock that I try and take out and let it go. That’s not to say we’re going to start rapping on the album, but I want to add some mystery.”

Even the artwork on the album cover takes the band away from their metal roots and into a world that’s more modern rock akin to the likes of Alter Bridge and Shinedown than it is to, say, the new wave of classic rock which is definitely not the sound the British outfit present. They’ve subtly continued to use the old Nightblade logo which has more than a hint of the old NWOBHM feel to it but the placement and the way it appears in the cover (also cleverly done on the last album) means that it fits and helps maintain the modern approach that Mark is going for. It’s a great aesthetic and one that shows a band on the right path.

“I’m glad you say that, as that’s the first time we’ve used a shot of us on the cover. I’ve always used illustrations before now, but we went up to this old mining town and the building we were shot against was covered with warnings saying, ‘Under No Circumstances Must You Enter This Building’. I’ve been going past this place for years, so I know it’s OK, but it did make us smile.”

If you’re still to be convinced about seeing the band or trying the music, Mark goes into a little more detail about their influences which includes punk, Pink Floyd, Alter Bridge, Joe Bonamassa, and more. It’s no wonder their music is a treasure trove of styles and differing songs, yet for whatever reason everything fits like the finest glove. Nightblade would certainly go down well in the US right now with the modern rock scene definitely taking over from the classic acts of old.

Musical styles aside though, one of the most important components in the structure of a song is of course the lyrics. Over the course of the last three years, Mark has had to deal with the inability to tour and the world turning upside down, but with the latest album, things are slowly returning to normal and suddenly there’s a lot going on. Because aside from the cost of living, the war in Ukraine, the unrest in the US, the threat of monkeypox, the UK government that no one has any faith in, the rise of right-wing parties across Europe, what else is there to find inspiration from?

“People have always been and remain the best inspiration for me. You get stories, you hear things, stories that spark an interest, especially if it’s a decent subject. Sometimes somebody can say something to me and might just use an interesting word or phrase. I’ll jot that down and save it for later. So, a lot of the source material comes from people and keeping my eyes and ears open to what they are saying. There was a lot of deliberating as to what to include this time, as we’ve had enough of the last two years, so we wanted to add a more jovial element to this release. It makes it a lot more personal this time. If you look beyond what’s there on the surface, there are some very interesting elements to write about; other things happening which you can miss but can provide a real import, a profound topic in my view. Just keep your eyes and ears open.”

The Nightblade writing machine shows no hint of slowing down as Mark admits he’s already got three or four songs in his head, moving towards the half an album mark. The next couple of years will see the band touring more before perhaps releasing another album.

The new album from Nightblade will be out on their own Nightblade Records label on 9 September and is heartily recommended by this writer.

Mark Crosby chats to Adrian Hextall