The Night Eternal Cold Velvet Review

The Night Eternal

Cold Velvet

Metal Blade Records

2026

I’ve had this album on my radar for the past couple of months. When I saw the video for “Where This World Ends”, I became wholly enamored as I love melancholic metal. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Unto Others and aspects of bands like In Solitude and Sentenced with the morose, dark and catchy melodies that wash over me like the pouring rain. The moody environments that the band create are equal parts heartbreaking and dream-inducing. COLD VELVET is quite vexing in the sense that it can bring such contrasting emotions to the forefront of my mind every time I listen to it.

One of the elements that I love most about this album is the vocal work of lead singer Ricardo Baum. His vocals remind me a lot of the soulful efforts of Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage and Blood Has Been Shed). It’s mesmerizing. COLD VELVET is the band’s third release and their debut on Metal Blade Records. While the band primarily stays within the confines of the shadows, there are some surprising moments such as “The Watcher of the Burning Veil” which comes across as a power metal track (think Helloween or Blind Guardian) and “Caught In a Spell” which, save for the vocals, gives me some SOMEWHERE IN TIME-era Maiden vibes.



With so many standout tracks, it’s really difficult to pick my favorites, but I’d have to say that the singles “Where This World Ends” and “The Veins of Time” are easy choices, but the two that I go back to the most are “Eurydice (Don’t Look Back)” and the phenomenal closer “Dance on Crimson Ground”.

~TJ