Genetic Disorder

Never let it be said that Nightmare is not a resilient band. Formed in 1979, the French metal combo faced its share of challenges in the 1980s (including label problems and lineup changes) before breaking up in the latter part of that decade only to reunite in 1999. It was a surprising, unexpected reunion — European headbangers who were familiar with their 1980s recordings had assumed that Nightmare was gone for good — and the band was still plugging away in the late 2000s. Recorded in Sweden in 2007 — which was 28 years after Nightmare's formation — Genetic Disorder finds them working with Swedish producer Fredrik Nordström. In European metal circles, Nordström has a very good reputation; he has worked with Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, At the Gates, In Flames and many other well known bands. Nordström is known for producing a lot of death metal and black metal, but he doesn't produce extreme metal exclusively, and on Genetic Disorder, Nightmare's 2007 lineup (Jo Amore on lead vocals, Alex Hilbert and Franck Milleliri on guitar, Yves Campion on bass and David Amore on drums) offers old-school power metal that is melodic yet intense and hard-driving. Iron Maiden and Helloween are strong influences, and Amore usually favors a gruff vocal style along the lines of Ronnie James Dio and Maiden's Bruce Dickinson; occasionally, Amore gets into some high-pitched wailing of the Rob Halford/King Diamond variety, although he usually prefers gruffness over the high notes. While Genetic Disorder falls short of mind-blowing, all of the songs are decent — and Nightmare's resilience is certainly admirable.