Photos by Wayne Edwards.
Main FFMB article: https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/03/26/ruby-the-hatchet-at-the-stone-church-march-17-2023/
© Wayne Edwards
Photo Gallery: Ice Giant at The Stone Church, Brattleboro, Vermont (2023)
Epic Metal
Gatekeeper, From Western Shores (Cruz Del Sur 2023)
Canadian epic metal band Gatekeeper bring forth the wonder once again on From Western Shores.
Guitarist Jeff Black started Gatekeeper as a solo project in 2009. Steeped in the quality of life that western Canada provides, Black set to work on epic melodic metal compositions, turning out over the years many EPs and splits, along with the full-length album East Of Sun in 2018. The band roster has changed considerably as time passed, and for the new album, Jeff Black is joined by Tyler Anderson (vocals), Adam Bergen (guitar, choir), David Messier (bass, choir), and Thomas Torma (drums).
“From Western Shores” sounds like the beginning of something big. The composition is dramatic and seasoned with exotic tinges. Soaring vocals and razor-sharp execution is the mainstay, gearing up for a journey told in music. “Death On Black Wings” is the first confrontation with violence and the energy and tone is appropriately adjusted. You can hear it in the vocals and the expressive lead guitar lines that sound like battles themselves. “Shadow And Stone” is quieter and reflective, pushing in the folk metal direction and passing by the valley of the power ballad. “Exiled King” is somber and sad in its sound and intimations. It is reflective, as we might expect given the title. The music becomes more forceful as the song progresses, suggesting the possibility of resolution.
The second half opens on “Nomads.” The beginning riff is enticingly stabby, tempered by the rollick in the rhythm section. The windswept middle of the song is a mysterious entanglement. “Twisted Towers” is positively peppy, almost a radio tune. Presumably, this song is the direct inspiration for the cover painting (or vice versa). There are some nice, gritty rock passages tucked away in here. “Desert Winds” reëstablishes a serious musical posture leading into the epic closer and namesource, “Keepers Of The Gate.” The metal here is larger than life, as it is meant to be. There is a long and satisfying cooldown so you can put what you have just experienced into perspective. Well done all around. Recommended.
From Western Shores finds broad release on Friday, March 24th through Cruz Del Sur Music. You can get the physicals at the links below.
Band photos by Wayne Edwards.
Links.
Bandcamp, https://gatekeeper.bandcamp.com/album/from-western-shores
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/GatekeeperBand/
Cruz Del Sur Music, https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/
© Wayne Edwards
Seventh Storm, Maledictus (Atomic Fire 2022)
The debut album from Seventh Storm is out this week: Maledictus.
Mike Gaspar is well-known as the drummer for the gothic metal band from Portugal, Moonspell. He recently went out on his own and formed this new band, Seventh Storm, with Rez (vocals), Ben Stockwell (guitar), Josh Riot (guitar), and Butch Cid (bass). The focus of this new project is melodic and epic metal, with a clear orientation toward the sea.
Starting at the beginning, “Pirate’s Curse” sounds the way you think it might from the title – there are sea shanty warbles mixed in at opportune moments to enhance the melodic metal approach. Likewise, guitar riffs are paired with keys to produce a full sound, and the entire construction lives in support of the vocals, which come across with vigor and a slight roughness. The pace is steady and not overwrought, and it accelerates and slows as needed for the narrative. There is a lyrical lead guitar break in the second half that is a welcome payoff for the metal-minded among us.
“Saudade” comes next in its first form – in English with powered instruments. There is also a version in Portuguese, and two acoustic takes, one in each language, at the end of the set. The song is very theatrical, laced and infused with drama at key moments. The construction is narrative-heavy, and so the emphasized lyrics become particularly important. I am already getting the feeling I should be seeing this live, and that the music is part of a drama where a visual element would be a valuable enhancement.
“Sarpanit” is a transition piece, then the band is on to “Gods of Babylon,” which is my favorite song on the album because of its fantastic guitar riffs and perplexing percussion. The lead break also stands out. As the record continues, more adventures are had and the musical explorations continue in clever and inventive paths. There is no doubt in my mind that fans of melodic and epic metal will find this album exceptional, as will fans of Moonspell.
Maledictus is out through Atomic Fire Records on August 12th, and you can find it just about anywhere. Explore the YouTube channel at the link below and look over the format options at the label’s website.
Band photo by Diogo Branco.
Links.
YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcggn03mka4vFx9HR5QqNLQ
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SeventhStormBand/
Atomic Fire Records, https://www.atomicfire-records.com/products
© Wayne Edwards
Týr, A Night At The Nordic House (Metal Blade 2022)
Folk metal icons Týr have recorded a live album with an orchestra that exhibits an unforgettable musical symbiosis, A Night At The Nordic House.
It has been a little over twenty years since progressive folk metal band Týr was founded in the Faroe Islands. Their location is certainly a memorable aspect of the band’s character, but of course it is the music they create that sets them apart. Over the years they have released eight full-length studio albums, the most recent being Hel (2019). Their style is a progressive form of epic folk metal that overlaps Viking and death metal as well.
The new album was recorded live at The Nordic House in Tórshavn, in the Faroe Islands on February 8th, 2020, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Faroe Islands. If ever there was a metal band that could make effective and dramatic use of an accompanying orchestra, Týr fits the bill. From the press release … “Working with the Symphony Orchestra was without a doubt one of the highlights of our careers,” admits vocalist Heri Joensen. “The feeling of sheer sophisticated power behind us was extraordinarily uplifting. We were awed by how well the songs worked in a symphonic setting. ‘By The Sword In My Hand,’ for example, seems to take on a new life.”
There are eighteen tracks on the massive album, including the opening intro. “Gates of Hel” is the ideal song to hear first if you want to know what to expect from the rest of the performance. The slow build is enormously enhanced by the fullness of the orchestration. The primary instrument is still the guitar, and the voices and orchestral apparatus work a pervasive, all-encompassing effect. The gruff lead vocals match the perfectly the melodic aspects of the overall musical construction.
“By the Sword in My Hand” is another exemplary performance. The theme is an epic tale of conquest and the ideal instantiation of the narrative. Dazzling lead guitar work and soaring choruses combine into overwhelming musical power. The final track, “Álvur Kongur,” is the capstone, and you get the feeling at the end that seeing this performance would have been as amazing an experience as hearing it.
A Night At The Nordic House is out on Friday March 18th through Metal Blade Records. Highly recommended for fans of Týr, and genre fans as well – but, seriously, if you appreciate folk/Viking/epic metal then you are already a Týr fan.
Links.
Bandcamp, https://tyrband.bandcamp.com/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/tyrband
Týr website, https://tyr.fo/
Metal Blade Records, https://www.metalblade.com/us/
© Wayne Edwards. All rights reserved.
Theandric, Flight Among The Tombs (2022)
Back with the first new music since 2014, Detroit’s Theandric present the four-song EP Flight Among The Tombs.
The band had early beginnings about ten years ago in Detroit. Releasing an EP called Up The Irons in 2011, and then a long-player two years later, The Door Of Faith, the band went quiet shortly thereafter. In its most recent formulation, the players are Paul Tiseo (vocals, bass, keys, and guitar), Bill Bogue (guitar), Aaron Wienczak (guitar), and Matt Voss (drums). Tiseo had the original idea for the group, and it continues now along similar paths with expanded perspectives.
The music is filled with big notions in both the narrative and the musical composition itself. It has a renaissance feel to it more than a medieval one. More Robin Hood than Lord of the Rings, you might say. Fixed in fantastic ideas and melodies, the guitars sometimes play in homage to Randy Rhoads and the vocals might be mistaken for a merry take on Ronnie James Dio.
The first pairing is “Flight Among The Tombs” and “The Battle Of Sherramuir.” “Flight” has a notably prog orientation in the keys and strings; a challenging composition. “Battle,” on the other hand, has a lighter tone, even though it is ostensibly about a violent conflict. It is rather like listening to a mage sing about a storied battle in the most entertaining way possible.
“Condemned To Death” is heavy and dark, with serious, doomy riffs and sorrowful vocals. “Ozymandias” has a more mysterious vibe to it, mystical and maybe even sinister. Big riffs and soaring vocals line the halls of both songs, expressed along somewhat divergent lines. It is good to hear the solid production in these songs and the artful execution of the musicians’ vision. If you are in the mood for traditional metal with an epic flair, Theandric is worth a look. Recommended.
Flight Among The Tombs hits the streets on Friday, February 11th. The quick grab is Bandcamp. Links below.
Links.
Theandric website, https://www.theandric.com/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TheandricMusic
Bandcamp, https://theandric.bandcamp.com/
Battle Beast, Circus Of Doom (Nuclear Blast 2022)
The unstoppable Battle Beast launches their sixth session of epic metal mayhem: Circus Of Doom.
I saw Battle Beast at the Worcester Palladium a few years back at what might have been the final New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. They were one of the earlier acts then, opening, in a way, for bands like Kamelot. I have to say Battle Beast gave the best show of that group. They had a positive, high-energy attitude and they did not hold anything back. I have had my eye on them ever since.
Circus Of Doom is Battle Beast’s sixth full-length album, following 2019’s No More Hollywood Endings. There have been a few line-up shifts, including one highly publicized schism. Whatever effect this had on the band, in the years since I have been following them there is only evidence of growth in songwriting and performance. Each album is a notch up from the one before, and the legion of fans for the band from Finland keeps expanding.
The title track opens Pandora’s Box with a calliope of metal. This is dramatic, epic music. In other words, intense, layered production surrounds the clear, powerful vocals of Noora Louhimo, who has one of the best voices for metal performance working today. The heavy guitar and rhythm makes appearances by stepping into the light and then sidles back to the shadows, but it is always there. Epic metal is a clear and particular lane for heavy music, and Battle Beast charges right down the middle of it.
Every song is up-tempo, and each has a combination of smoother and rougher elements, some leaning more on the one and others, the other. Put together, then, the album is a great success in variety and delivers to fans exactly what they are looking for. Recommended.
Nuclear Blast issues Circus Of Doom on Friday, January 21st in a plethora of physical forms and, of course, digital. You can get it anywhere that heavy music lives.
Links.
Website, https://battlebeast.fi/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/battlebeastofficial
Nuclear Blast Records, https://label.nuclearblast.com/en/music/band/discography/details/7563223.591628.circus-of-doom.html
Wolftooth, Blood and Iron (Napalm Records 2021)
The third album from Wolftooth is their best yet: Blood and Iron.
Wolftooth is from Indiana. In 2018 they released their first album independently, Wolftooth. The band’s second album came out two years later from Ripple Music, Valhalla. That is when I first heard them, and I was greatly impressed. That album was one of the best I heard last year. The new one is a continuation of epic-scale heavy metal with colossal riffs and melodic vocals embracing lush lead guitar work. It is their best album yet. The band is Jeff Cole (guitars), Johnny Harrod (vocals, drums), Terry McDaniel (bass), and Chris Sullivan (vocals, guitar).
Blood and Iron has nine tracks. A quick look at the cover art and a browse through the song titles will tell you right away that the lyrical themes tilt toward fantasy and epic legend territory. The band has this to say about their new album – “Blood & Iron is the culmination of all the work that we as a band have put into forging our sound over the last four years. Musically, we feel that we’ve honed what works well for us while expanding on what was already there. This album represents a more mature direction, relying on classic heavy metal influence with a strong nod to our proto-metal roots. Lyrically, the album focuses on kings, battle, conquest and myth. These elements together coalesce into a riff-laden slab of heavy metal that we are all proud of.”
What I like especially about this music is the solid layering, the meaty length given to each song, and the lead guitar work which has an urgent quality to go along with is melodic essence. The title track is the perfect example of all this. As much as I liked last year’s Valhalla, I have to say I like the new one even better. The bluesy elements and fuzzy stoner presence is a winning combination with the fantastical lyrical ideas and the epic scale of the compositions. Top marks all around. Highly recommended.
Blood and Iron is out now through Napalm Records. Check out the label’s Wolftooth page, the band’s own site, or Bandcamp to see the available varieties.
Links.
Website, https://wolftoothmetal.com/
Bandcamp, https://wolftooth.bandcamp.com/album/blood-iron
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/wolftoothmetal/
Napalm Records, https://napalmrecords.com/english/wolftooth
Khemmis, Deceiver (Nuclear Blast 2021)
Denver doom metal band Khemmis roll out their fourth full-length album, Deceiver.
From their founding almost a decade ago, Khemmis has been a reliable source of thought-provoking doom metal. The lane of music they operate in tells you something about their sound, but they do not get lost in the crowded field – you can always tell when it is Khemmis playing on stage. After the recent departure of long-time bassist Daniel Beiers, the band is Zach Coleman, Phil Pendergast, and Ben Hutcherson.
Acoustic guitars open the first song on the album, “Avernal Gate.” The peace does not last long. Invigorating lead breaks and vibrant pace make this track an eye opener. “House of Cadmus” has a slower and weightier riff range. Paired with the clean vocals, the effect is particularly penetrating. “Living Pyre” is the first-half highlight for me. It is bold and serious in its tone and solemn in its delivery. The surprisingly wicked secondary vocal adds an even darker depth.
“Shroud of Lethe” sustains and permeates with its shadowy dignity. The eloquent lead break near the front and the vicious transient voice past the middle are perfectly placed rejoinders. “Obsidian Crown” sits atop a deceptively straight-forward substrate and from there grows and blossoms. In the closing track, “The Astral Road,” final lines are spoken in the fateful progression of existence. The calamity of conflict resonates in fiercer movements while the realization of the truth behind the increasingly obvious façade is revealed in the quieter moments.
The music on this album has an epic scale to it, a soaring persona that holds true in every song. It is exactly what fans of the band were hoping for. Recommended.
Deceiver is due on Friday, November 19th through Nuclear Blast Records.
Links.
Website, https://khemmisdoom.com/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/khemmisdoom
Nuclear Blast Records, https://shop.nuclearblast.com/en/products/sound/cd/cd/khemmis-deceiver.html
Black Soul Horde, Horrors From The Void (Vinyl Store 2021)
Greek dark metal band Black Soul Horde take a journey through the Lovecraftian ether on Horrors from the Void.
Black Soul Horde is rapidly building a reputation for reliably creating epic metal landscapes in dark dimensions. Take last year’s Land Of Demise, for example, and the earlier Tales of the Ancient Ones (2013). The music has an Iron Maiden kind of scale but leans in a somewhat speedier direction. The band is Jim Kotsis (vocals), John Tsiakopoulos (guitar, bass), and Costas Papaspyrou (guitar). Vasilis Nanos is the drummer for the recording session.
The new album has a specific narrative focus on the mythology created by H. P. Lovecraft. A lot of metal bands have found rich veins to mine in Lovecraft, and for good reason. Not every song on Horrors From The Void is sourced entirely from this realm but they do all have mystical premises. The way Black Soul Horde uses the literature it is to take an idea or story and set it in an imminently digestible metal package of approachable, catchy riffs and thrilling lead breaks.
We hear on these eight tracks a talent for melody and astute composition that make every song a living experience. It is metal told at an epic scale and Kotsis’s voice is strong and clear – well patterned to the musical paradigm. My favorites are the opener and the penultimate track, “Beneath the Mountains of Madness” and “The Curse,” because they exhibit all the individual elements that make the album work so well as a whole.
The CD version of the album contains two bonus tracks, “Dragonfire” and “The Horde.” It is worth getting the physical for these songs because of the blistering lead work on “Dragonfire” and the grand presentation that is “The Horde.” If you liked their last album Land of Demise then you will like this one, too. For me, the new one goes a notch higher. Recommended.
Horrors From The Void is out tomorrow, November 10th, in CD and digital formats. Links below.
Links.
Bandcamp, https://blacksoulhorde.bandcamp.com/album/horrors-from-the-void
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/blacksoulhorde
Vinyl Store, https://www.vinylstore.gr/
Blazon Rite, Endless Halls Of Golden Totem (Gates Of Hell Records 2021)
Philadelphia metal molders Blazon Rite keep the campaign going with their new long-player, Endless Halls Of Golden Totem.
Last year’s EP Dulce Bellum Inexpertis was filled with portents and promise. It showed an approach to Epic Metal that was solid and expansive, a wall of sound built to the top. The new album not only continues the ideas signaled in the earlier work but also expands on them. Blazon Rite is James Kirn (guitar), Johnny Halladay (vocals), Pierson Roe (bass, synth, and guitar), Kay Hamacher (guitar), and Ryan Haley (drums).
There are eight tracks on the new album, and they display a greater narrative variety compared to the earlier release because Endless Halls Of Golden Totem is not a themed album. “Legends of Time and Eidolon” starts the boulder rolling with a commanding guitar riff that is quickly surrounded by the rhythm section and a synth line. Johnny Halladay’s voice rises, sounding like a traveling mage delivering the harrowing tale from village to village. The lead guitar skips in trippingly with bright colors highlighting the deepening story and completing it.
Every song on the album is constructed with the same thoughtful complexity and earnest roundedness. The styles vary from one to the next offering a rich listening environment. The music has roots in classic metal while pushing grand stories and power metal appreciations. The opening bars of “Put Down Your Steel” reminded me a little of Judas Priest but the rest of the song didn’t. “The Executioner’s Woe” made me instantly – and only for an instant – remember Rainbow’s Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll before moving off in other directions.
The title track alternates between power metal pronouncements and quieter moments while “Alchemist’s Brute” offers a light-hearted eeriness. The final song is “Into Shores Of Blood” and it is somber and sorrowful to begin with but turns up the tension and volume after a couple minutes to deliver a colossal sound. Blazon Rite made a good decision to create this kind of album in all its variety that nevertheless preserves in each song the band’s core principles. Recommended.
Endless Halls Of Golden Totem is out from Gates Of Hell Records this Friday, June 18th, in digital, CD, and vinyl forms.
Links.
Bandcamp, https://blazonrite.bandcamp.com/
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/blazonriteofficial
Gates of Hell Records, http://www.gatesofhellrecords.com/
Review of Dulce Bellum Inexpertis, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2020/09/22/blazon-rite-dulce-bellum-inexpertis-review-gates-of-hell-records-2020/
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