Since 2018 this Maryland Crossover/Thrash Metal horde have been honing their craft through multiple EP releases, as well as a demo earlier this year. Now though this US five-piece have unleashed their debut album and they’re doing it through one of the best labels in the UK in terms of consistent hard hitting metal quality, Mercenary Press who are putting this beast out on both CD and cassette. It isn’t just musically that Ninth Realm have gone all out either and ‘A Fate Unbroken’ shows its fantasy inspired claws with superb and brilliantly monstrous artwork!
What is instantly noticeable about Ninth Realm is that they manage to showcase their old school Thrash and Death Metal influences without trying to sound massively old school themselves. Instead, they focus on themselves and how they want to sound, and how they sound is aggressive in the riffs and drums, groove drenched in the bass department and raw in the vocals. They are catchy when the mood calls for it, they show their technical prowess and let their more creative leanings wander and above all else they produce high-energy hard hitting Thrash with a touch of Death Metal but in a controlled, systematic way. Calculating and vicious!
Truly ‘A Fate Unknown’ has it all, from diabolical fretwork and shredding, to passages of psychotic crushing fury. Insanely catchy hooks to chugging head banging fury and intensity. No two tracks sound the same and that shows a superior level of creativity when it comes to song-writing, and a quality I’m always drawn to in a band is the ability and the willingness to explore and embrace their more melodic sound. Melody and meandering guitar leads can bring a whole new level of intensity and Ninth Realm are masters at it. Case in point, trach four entitled ‘Ondreis’ has something for everyone, technical prowess, soothing melodic undertones, a little shredding fury and an unrivalled amount of emotional and physical heaviness.
Something else Ninth Realm excel at is the belligerent uncompromising Thrash epic, and during ‘Evoke Thy Wrath’ the band have the chops to churn out a real head-banger, a live anthem if ever I’ve heard one.
I can’t sing this album’s praises enough, a powerful and absorbing debut offering from a very promising band.
(8/10 Marksson)
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