StormlordI used to play Stormlord’s 2004 album “The Gorgon Cult” a lot. For me it rode a little on the back of Dimmu Borgir’s symphonic black metal style but instead of having the ultra dark and satanic edge, this was free-flowing, epic metal to be enjoyed for its pomp, bombast and melody. Coming from a band who’d been around since 1991, it demonstrated a good deal of maturity.

Time has passed and I have now come into contact again with this band from Italy. Part of the reason for this loss of contact is that there’s only been one album between “The Gorgon Cult” and now. As I listened to the first track “Aeneas”, I recognised the same galloping epic freshness. Galloping is in fact appropriate as the sound of horses can be heard mid-way through. One thing I did miss was that “Aeneas”’s lyrics, which are extracted from Virgil’s “Aeneid”, are in dactylic hexameter form. Now you know. I didn’t until I read this. It’s a fine piece of epic metal, whatever form it’s in. I thought it had an air of Bal Sagoth or Omnium Gatherum about it. “Motherland” which follows is similarly forceful and driving. This is clearly an album which is going to draw itself to our attention, not one which waits for us. The drummer is on overtime. There’s even a hint of Eastern promise.  Likewise “Bearer of Hate” thunders its way into our psyche. Twisting, twirling and exciting and with irresistible drama, the hissing tones of the vocalist add spice to the orchestral epic going on. There’s a marching quality but what’s interesting too is the appearance of a Mediterranean folk style in the dynamic equation.

What I particularly liked is the way in which the album expands. It’s far from being blood and thunder metal. The title track has an epic quality but whilst always enveloped in a blanket of sounds, the impact is achieved through the lengthened notes and orchestral strains. Stopping momentarily, it plunges into an area of dark and majestic territory we haven’t encountered before. The track “Hesperia” is melancholic in its way but majestic. Acoustic and orchestral sounds then sweep us off our feet and take us forward “Onward to Roma”. Another insistent and wide-reaching song follows, spiced with moments of belligerent emotion and folk elements, but above all extreme metal melody. This could come from Finland, such is its intensity. A deep-voiced section smacks of hard labour. A small criticism I would have is that it could have deviated more from the dominant riff. A slow classical interlude, reminiscent of “Adagio for Strings”, is a short breather before battle recommences. That driving and thumping rhythm which is the hallmark is there. Electro-orchestral strains run through the air in the background as the vocalist spits fire. It’s quite mechanical but always rhythmical. Equally “My Lost Empire” is heavy but always engaging and evocative. The monstrous nine and a half minute long “Those Up on the Pyre” starts with the sound of lapping water. Instead of dashing off into extreme melodic rhythms, the build-up is more deliberate and there is an atmosphere of foreboding. It speeds up a little but between the deliberate patter of the drum and the orchestral majesty, there is a darker message here. It picks up as the vocalist cries. “Those Up on the Pyre” is an atmospheric and spine-chilling track.

This is such a well-developed album. “The Gorgon Cult” was good, but this takes on a new aspect and is maturer still. “Hesperia” has plenty of energy and fire but it’s also very atmospheric. Epic metal doesn’t come better than this.

(8.5 /10 Andrew Doherty)

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