For those of you who didn’t go to or read my Warhorns Festival review, I first encountered this young (formed in 2022) Plymouth based band in the live arena and their melodic death metal usually has a tough time with me, but they didn’t. They play a bright, energetic modern take on melodic death metal with a kind of thrash/speed sensibility and they hooked me in easily.
So this is their debut album after three singles, and an electronic, sci-fi infused intro of ‘Incoming Transmission’ sets the atmosphere nicely before the melodic notes of ‘A Power Greater Than One’ surges in on the kind of fast paced, melodic riff that opens up your chest in preparation to sing. The vocals are harsh, but expressive. The keyboards sweep in and out as the two guitars hit a hard riff and the heavy drums and the bass push the gears. Are there hooks? Oh yes. There are hooks. It’s has a kind of twinkling starlight feel to the melody line, a sense of looking up and beyond towards something. If you’re looking for names to drop then tentatively I’d say Insomnium’s sense of a huge sound is there. Weirdly (because I’m ancient) the softer moments almost bring fellow sci-fi travellers Saga to mind, but don’t worry not much…
Did I say sci-fi? Well yes. It’s not just the sound, the almost space opera sense to the tunes despite the weight and speed of the riffs, but there is I gather a loosely woven story here of escape from the totalitarian, freewheeling, going ‘out there’, something like that. No lyric sheet alas so I’ll say no more.
‘Dethrone The King’ keeps the gallop steady, but with a building sense of things coming to a point. The production is genuinely surprisingly good; it’s clear and lets the tunes soar without losing the rumble and the pound of the riffs. The guitar work is just excellent (50p will get you a lecture on that from the guitarists apparently, and save the band from it. Again…) especially when they twin up and feed off each other. So much energy here too, so much. ‘Hell Or High Water’ has a little darker sound, a more full on riff driven sound initially, a nice hint of 3 Inches Of Blood hereabouts with the vocal attack and the urgency to the song, all to prove they can do more than just soaring melody and swathes of keyboards.
The pace continues, the impassioned ‘Living Through Your Hate’ and ‘A Dream Of The End’ blazing past into two tracks which are already favourites of mine; ‘Solitary Sate’ with its gorgeous opening sound and the restrained but mesmeric hook of the refrain and ‘A Starless Sky’ with the rampage of the drum driven riff and the great bass line keeping the sound dark.
There’s something old school amongst this modernity too, something in the lead breaks which for my old ears hark back to some of the epic eighties prog and pomp bands like Rush and New England but whatever it adds such a classic edge to these songs. Listen to the intro to ‘The Light’ and some of the trilling lead work within.
‘Executioner’ sounds single minded; buzzing guitar breaks over a heavy death metal sound before the keen melodic edge catches the light. ‘Return To Yesterday’ goes from slower snapping pace to the full War Shepherd gallop. And the closer, ‘War Shepherd’ itself has one of those to die for opening melodies that pulls you close so the guitars and vocals just dig their teeth in. strangely haunting in the melody, this is a grand ending indeed.
So. Downsides? Well as a debut I’m always inclined to nit-pick a little as nothing is perfect straight out of the gates. Perhaps a bigger change in tempo for some songs might round out the album’s landscape a little more. Maybe something taking ‘Hell Or High Water’ into an even heavier place, even a slower one as they are clearly so good at that too. But it’s teeny nit-picking thoughts and would depend on the album and context. Just don’t be afraid to try things.
What we have here is a band who impressed me so much live. There appears to be a genuine band focus, and a drive, towards a shared goal here. They know what they want to sound like, what to do and how to get there and are already a long way along that journey. They know the value of weight to the riffs as well as those hooks and those keyboards. They have written some excellent songs for this debut and have imbued the whole work with just such a vibrant energy it’s hard not to get carried away. Damn they even have a great name and logo!
Celebratory, enthralling and driving hard, this is melodic death metal with a sense of scope and emotion that I wouldn’t expect from such a young debut. The fact that they must surely simply get better is the kind of thing that just makes me smile. I’m going to be mean with the score but, hey, it’s only because I now expect so much more in the future!
Get out there, listen to this and catch them live. They really are on to something here. A fantastic debut with real room to grow still. Remember the name.
(7.5/10 Gizmo)
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