It would appear that Stalwart are a mainstay in the Russian metal scene, having released 5 albums in the last 11 years and having been around for 13.
An almost symphonic intro for “The Karma Circle” is quickly thrown aside for brutal blasts and roars and death metal growls. The guitars weave powerful riffs into the mix, with the subtle keyboards used for emphasis making the guitars sound even heavier.
The beginning of “Downgrade Evolution” has a great start/stop effect with the guitars and drums perfectly in time, while the accompanying keyboard adds a nice effect without being distracting or overbearing. The lead breaks during the middle also have some keyboard accompaniment, which again works really well.
Alex’s intense drum battery on “Rise of the Ninth Wave” just keeps on pounding at you relentlessly, while Oleg’s vocals rise from slow guttural roars faster growls of ferocity and anger.
“Last Dawn of the Era” again kicks off with an unrelenting drum pounding, however this time the guitar feel is much slower, full of sustains and bends while doomy vocals follow suit to great effect.
“Corrosion” has clean vocals and plenty of keyboards with an almost gothic feel at times, but is still able to kick up the intensity to keep it metal.
Full of triplets and quick riff changes “Idol of the Time” is the shortest track on the album, but by no means the fastest. Alex and Demian keep the drums and bass going while Leonid and Antuan’s guitars play squealing leads and trade heavy chops throughout.
The almost whispered/spoken opening verse on “It’s Just My Choice” has a disquieting quality belied by the cheerful guitar riff which is eventually swept away by the main power chug that takes over. The meandering lead solo is intricate and impressively played as it carries you along.
“Manifest of Refusal” starts with utter ferocity, only to have it mellow down to simmering rage which bubbles over with double the devastation it would have had otherwise.
The vocals on “Renaissance Through Devastation” are a bit more shouted Swedish death metal rather than the usual low roars they predominantly employ. And while the keyboards have a mellow melody flowing throughout the song, the guitar and drum the attack is pretty much the same they’ve used on the rest of the album, as there’s no real reason to not do what they’re good at.
A solid album which shows a couple different ideas that they use to keep their sound from becoming stagnant, but never lacking in aggression.
(6/10 Marco Gaminara)
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