How do you solve a problem like Stuart Perry?
The powerhouse vocalist of Yorkshire based Epic/Power metal band Sellsword, became so synonymous with the band that, when he retired from frontman duties in 2020, it did seem that they may never be able to find someone to take over as the siege captain of this trebuchet obsessed warrior clan.
However in 2022 step forward Nathan Harrison, a brave warrior ready to accept the sword from the Lady Of The Lake and lead Sellsword into future sieges and conquests. He has made an impact immediately with the live shows they have had since he joined.
Stepping into the frontman role brilliantly, bringing his own vocal style but one that still has the dramatic delivery of his predecessor, perfect when the band has always reminded me a lot of a band like Saracen who managed to transcend their NWOBHM meets AOR beginnings and become their own style of epic symphonic backed British metal.
This is what Sellsword do, with the epic, symphonic elements and keys and frantic pace of Euro power metal, the gallops and choppy riffs of NWOBHM it's heavy metal bravado that expects you to pump your fist and put on your armour ready for another crusade, with a sound that can be traced to such cult acts as Warlord, Omen, Blind Guardian and of course legends like Iron Maiden.
You could also trace Sellsword's style to Sabaton, but while the Swedes are strictly history, Sellsword merge history with myth be it mercenaries vs vampires, Boudicca/Boadicea (which features a guest voice from South Wales' own warrior Queen) or massive trebuchets, it's all got the swashbuckling approach of an Errol Flynn movie, the dramatic New Gods especially.
The rest of the band remains unchanged, Tom Keeley's bass shifting the rhythms from speedy gallops to mid pace grooves while Tom Warner's drumming always robust and rampant, the mighty engine room, storming on these tracks like Alexander The Great's Companion Cavalry.
Henry Mahy and James Stephenson share the guitar duties and fill these songs with the heaviest, darkest, thrashiest riffs the band have come up with, with the lycanthropic grunt of Warwolf and the almost black metal blasting on opener The Bringers Of War.
Fear not though as there's still plenty of melodic shredding and cinematic symphonics, Saxon Steel propelled by Euro Power metal fury, some while Reignite The Flame is chugging anthem and a song highlighting Sellswords resilience as a band.
So how do they solve a problem like losing their vocalist? With ease! As Sellsword 2.0 return with another absolute classic in the epic/power metal genre pantheon. 9/10
God Unknown - Last Glimpse Of Daylight (TM Productions)
Musical project? Supergroup? No matter what you want to call it God Unknown is a collaboration of musicians from across the doom metal spectrum, based mainly out of the UK and Sweden.
Last Glimpse Of Daylight is their debut album after a lot of studio work, produced by God Unknown and mastered by Dan Swanö, it's an funeral doom record that doesn't spare on the atmosphere, organs/keys and introspective ambience spooned over the slow downtuned riffs that have a frostbitten rawness while the sombre lyrics are delivered by embittered vocals that range from shouts to whispers for Frost On The Windowpane.
It's all the brainchild of guitarist John Courage, he has has recruited a band that all have a history with death/doom, funeral doom and any music that revels in its misery. Joining him are guitarist/bassist Adam West, Grimtone's bassist Micheal Lang, Loft drummer Tats McGee, Pantheïst founder Kostas Panagiotou on keys and vocals come from Daniel and Camilla Tjernberg of Shrouded In Darkness/Dark Legacy.
With an Intro and an Interlude keeping the musical narrative moving and creating that oh so important atmosphere, God Unknown hits all the right note for a fan of funeral doom fan, and while it may not get you to smile, you'll certainly nod slowly in approval of this quality debut record. 8/10
Mountainscape - Traversing Realms (Road To Masochist)
We like a bit of cinematic post metal here and at just three songs but well over 28 minutes of music this new EP is definitely one to pick up of you like your songwriting, long and complex and mostly instrumental.
Formed in Reading, Mountainscape is drummer James and guitarist Dan Schrivener (Traces/Aklash/Saturnian) along with bassist Ethan Bishop of Cairiss, they have released three full length records before this, always experimenting and trying to make what they write unique.
Traversing Realms they have really showcased their composing skills as the first two tracks Dune and The Elder Scrolls are tracks inspired by those two epic franchises. However this isn't just inspired by, this is almost a case of re-arranged by, the band taking themes and melodies from Hans Zimmer's Dune soundtracks and Jeremy Soule's Oblivion and Skyrim soundtracks, pulling them apart and reconstruing them in their own way but with the spirit of the original compositions.
By, in their own way, I mean turning them into huge post metal showcases where massive melodic moments are turned into ferocious blasts of extremity, the cinematic scope allowing them to move between the several genres within their songs.
On Dune the spectacle of a desert world is created with huge vistas of melody and the brilliantly evocative vocals of Amaya López-Carromero (Maud The Moth/Healthy Living), while The Elder Scrolls is a fantastical adventure with a dark underside built on morality so the clash of dark and light is obvious here.
Traversing Realms comes to a head with Closure, a paean to lost loved ones, despite the source material of the other two songs the honesty and emotionally driven content here makes it the most powerful track on the EP. The kind of cathartic experience post metal should be, the addition of a string quartet makes for added potency.
Traversing Realms sees Mountainscape paying homage to things, and people they love, beautifully and brilliantly. 9/10
Cairiss - Wilderness (Self Released)
Their first album in a decade, Wilderness ISA stunning return for Cairiss. While this beginning may give away the end a little, there's plenty to talk about so let's dive in shall we? Wilderness was recorded over several years mixed and mastered by guitarists Ethan Bishop.
He wanted to let the more natural aspects of their music speak volumes, shunning digital perfection for authenticity of a band who meld blistering black metal, acoustic beauty and haunting atmospheres into some all consuming blackgaze which has been compared to Alcest, Sylvaine and Oathbreaker.
While I'd add they also have links to Dawnwalker and even Opeth too when the South Of England based collective, fully embrace the folksy acoustics in Integrate are segued into the stunning dissonance of Dissociate, the trio of vocalists, Freya Brown, Lydia Williams and Martin Williams, in an union of black metal screams, death growls and spectral cleans, adding more dynamic layers to music that is already huge in its scope.
Martin and Ethan's guitar playing is sublime, clean melodic phases, shift into acoustic beauty, through classic metal leads and tremolo picked savagery, their diverse and cinematic songwriting allowing orchestrations to swell against the crushing heaviness and incendiary pace powered by bassist Alex Taylor and drummer Connor Frapwell.
Wilderness is a concept record but around a "gruelling traversal through a psychic interior" the band set out a story that is a search for meaning, a long struggle though harsh metal landscapes, where grief is a mask and safety only comes when confronted, ultimately how trauma can soften through the experience of music, catharsis found at every moment of this record, even when they're at their most intense.
A decade in the making, Wilderness is a wonderful record from these blackgaze veterans, well worth the wait, Cairiss' debut album is something emotional, poignant and extremely powerful. 9/10
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