NIGHTSTALKER ~ RETURN FROM THE POINT OF NO RETURN ..... review

 

Do we really need to have to go into a long winded introduction explaining who Nightstalker are and detailing the impact this band have had not only on music from their own country Greece but also rock music worldwide. These guys have been doing their thing from way back in the early nineties and in that time have, in our opinion, never released anything that could be considered "duff" or "a turkey".Some would argue that without Nightstalker there would be no Greek underground rock scene and that's because many believe these guys laid the path all other Greek underground rock outfits have since been following. Like most bands there have been some comings and goings over the years (not that many to be fair) but the bands commitment to delivering vital, passionate rock music has never waned and you will find no lack of that same commitment running through the grooves of their latest release "Return From The Point Of No Return" (Heavy Psych Sounds Records).

Nightstalker are notoriously uncomfortable with being labelled as stoner, desert or any of the other tags  placed upon them  musically and this throws up a number of problems for any humble writer trying to review their output. The band do not make things any easier either by kicking off their new album with a song called "Dust" a number that has that same hard driven, fuzz drenched rolling gait we have over the years come to associate with music of a desert/stoner flavour. Whether you deem this tune desert/stoner rock or just plain old rock this well delivered lyrical lament, set against a surprisingly upbeat groove, is  everything you could possibly hope to expect from this iconic Athenian combo. Up next comes "Heavy Trippin'" a song that starts life languid and lysergic then morphs into a throbbing heavy rock groove routinely interrupted by passages of liquid-like guitar texturing over which vocalist Argy explains to us that " you don't need someone to follow when you don't need someone to lead" in those slightly wearied tones that have become his trademark. Rightly or wrongly Desert Psychlist's riff-battered ears detects traits belonging to the likes of Monster Magnet, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath and even a little Truckfighters knocking around in the galloping rocker "Uncut" with Andreas Lagios' bass and Dinos Roulos' drums laying down a platform of rolling grainy groove for Tolis Motsios to decorate with crunching guitar riffs and soaring lead work, Argy holding up his end with a superbly delivered vocal. Title track "Return From The Point Of No Return" has a pulsing, throbbing dynamic that gives it a space like feel, a feel enhanced by Argy occasionally running his vocals through a filter and also the thrumming, almost fizzy, tones of the bass and guitar. Nightstalker dial down the ferocity a tad for the swooning, but still damn weighty, "Shipwrecked Powder Monkey" a song that begins with Argy lamenting the vagaries of wasted time against a backdrop of gentle arpeggiated guitar, his voice emotive and full of gravitas. The wistful mood is however soon shattered when Lagios and Roulos join the fray and the song takes on a more torch-like dynamic, the song slowly building, layer by layer, to a peak, a peak that finds Argy repeating the line "but tomorrow became yesterday" surrounded by Tolis Motsios' swirling, screaming guitar. "Shallow Grave" follows much a similar dynamic path to its predecessor only this time around taking a little longer to climb towards its inevitable peak, the end result however just as intense and powerful. Penultimate number "Falling Inside" boasts a bouncy swaying dynamic, had this been put out as a single back in the day when we still had plenty of rock radio stations this would be a possible contender for a playlist spot. Nightstalker bring proceedings to a close with "Flying Mode" a song that finds Argy running a wizened eye over life and its choices against a backdrop of groove that along its journey shifts from lysergic doominosity to strutting psych heavy funkiness, Argy urging us to "move on, just move on" totally ignorant of  the fact that when the music is this good moving on is the last thing we want to do. 

Mention Nightstalker  to anyone outside of Greece with a knowledge of the underground rock scene and you will undoubtedly be met with replies of "great band", however ask those same people to name ten bands that have had a major impact on the international underground scene and Nightstalker will hardly get a mention. Why Nightstalker are not cited in the same breaths as the Kyuss', the Fu Manchu's and the Clutch's of this world is a mystery, especially given that before their arrival very few people looked outside of the USA and the UK for their rock music fixes, but that's just the way it is. Whether Nightstalker will be loose any sleep over this state of affairs we can't tell you but our guess is they will just carry on putting out albums of the quality of  "Return To The Point Of No Return" until it becomes physically impossible for them to do so... regardless of  mass recognition, musical trends or fashions. 

Check 'em out .... 

© 2025 Frazer Jones