Paintrail – Nocturnals (Corrupted Records, 2025)
After nearly ten years in limbo, Nocturnals is the debut release from Paintrail (Sweden), a superb instrumental project formed by Luca Delle Fave of Seventh Dimension and Hadid Rehman. Although released in 2025, Nocturnal presents three beautifully crafted compositions written back in 2016 and left unreleased until now.
The material was created during the duo’s first attempt at collaboration, guided by an open-ended approach without stylistic rules. Although the initial plan excluded electric guitar, the instrument eventually entered the arrangements as a secondary voice rather than a focal point. Shortly after the sessions concluded, the tracks were shelved and remained unheard for years.
Nocturnals is a fully instrumental progressive rock project, strictly self-contained, with all parts masterfully performed or programmed by the two musicians. Exquisite acoustic guitars lead the sound, supported by inventive bass, drums, and keyboards that create an uneasy, deeply engaging, nocturnal atmosphere. Subtle influences can be traced to the darker and less obvious sides of Opeth’s progressive rock-leaning work and Steven Wilson, and Storm Corrosion.
The name Paintrail was adopted only shortly before release, effectively giving an identity to a project that had existed without one for almost a decade.
Track list
01 – Nightwalker
02 – Lunar Caress
03 – The Conjuring