A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

Now Playing: Iris by Lycanthro

As many metalheads tend to do, I enjoy supporting small and local bands. It keeps a place’s culture going and it gives a certain solidarity in the scene and between musicians. (This is something we could always have more of, all the petty in-fighting gets tiring sometimes.) Now, in my home scene, you don’t tend to see a lot of power metal. Or much metal at all, really. But we are in a very tight knit scene, with many of us knowing each other by face, if not by name.

But what does this have to do with a new album? Because a small local band that I happen to be a fan of just dropped a new album recently, and I’ve been excited about this one. It is their second album (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is listed as an album on Spotify, but it’s an EP), and the first to feature guitarist Andrew Stout, bassist Everett Mayhew, and drummer Kyle Summers in the studio. (They’re all cool dudes, btw.)

Iris was the first single to drop from this album, and understandably so. The slower intro into the speeding drums, all while keeping the slower, soaring melody into the first verse feels reminiscent of their debut album, all while feeling fresh and new. James’ vocals take on a slightly harsher edge at points, slightly more than in the debut album. Underscored by backing choral harmonies and harsh vocals at various points, the song takes a slightly more blurring-the-lines kind of look at power metal, which I will never complain about. It takes their sound and twists it just enough for it to feel new without losing the core of their sound. (Also, fuck yes, gimme them 6 and a half minute power metal songs, I love that shit.)

Far Beyond the Walls, having a strictly vocal intro before launching into some more old school style instrumentals continues the very epic style of US style power metal. (USPM is a style of power metal that is generally a bit closer to the NWOBHM roots than European power metal.) This track also has the bass a little more forward in the mix, which is something I’ve come to quite enjoy about a good few Lycanthro tracks. Not many bands have the bass that forward and it is quite nice to see. The lead vocals are slightly buried, but not enough for it to be a big issue. The solo is, as is expected in power metal, fantastic, backed by epic drumming. The bridge also features stops in the instrumentals to have James singing on his own, showing off his powerful voice.

Remnants of Rapture is the title track of the album. It combines USPM with symphonic elements, as seems to be more common on this album than past Lycanthro tracks (and the debut album). It comes as a very interesting blend, especially in comparison to European power metal, which has a lot more of those symphonic blends and influences. It does have some lyrical elements of commentary on living in ignorance in the early lyrics, which is very interesting. The vocals on the chorus are very fun, as well. This song scratches my brain in a very nice and fun way. There’s also some really fun bass work in there around the 4 minute mark. (It starts being more properly audible around 3:50, but still.) It’s overall a fun song and I like it a lot. I am a little surprised it wasn’t chosen as a single, but there are only so many choices one can have. Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess. There’s also a fun little growl laugh combo right at the end, which is always very nice to hear for my chaos brain.

Cry Silver feels very reminiscent of a more hard rock style, combined with what feels like a slight Powerwolf influence in having an organ in there right at the start. It has a much more somber tone, bringing in a much darker sound than typically seen in a lot of power metal. (A lot of bands have been taking this route lately, and I am not mad about it.) To me, it feels reminiscent of some of the early chapters of Final Fantasy XIII, but it could also be something else entirely, especially with the mention of snow and sleet. It’s a very interesting track, and the melancholy involved gives a fun twinge of heartache that just gets to the core of something I always enjoy in metal. There’s also a fun little piano interlude in the bridge, which is always fun to hear, because you can never have enough of that.

Prison Eyes has a fun acoustic guitar start, with some very interesting percussion work in the background. It is the sole song under 4 minutes on the entire 10 track album (aside from the instrumental track, but we’ll get to that later), but I am not complaining about that, as I am known to enjoy my long ass songs. It has more of a ballad type feel than previous tracks on the album, and it’s interesting in how it still feels like it fits in on the album despite not having the typical feel one would expect of a metal song. It gives the vibes of something you would hear in a Final Fantasy game or in Kingdom Hearts or something and I mean that as the highest of compliments to the guys. It works on so many layers and I love it.

In Demon Light returns to the typical USPM feel, with the bass once again quite forward in the mix, and it works very well as a follow up to the ballad. It builds power and momentum coming off the slower vibe of Prison Eyes, and it generally works very well as a fun track. The mixing generally feels very epic, and works well as an addition to the repertoire of epic Canadian power metal and solidifying the Canadian presence within power metal as a whole. (Ignore that this band is still really small comparatively, but still.) It’s overall very interesting and gives me similar brain scratches to other tracks on this album. There’s also a more ethereal bridge before going back into the main chorus that works so well and I love it.

The Great Masquerade was the second single for this album, featuring Laura Guldemond of Burning Witches as a guest vocalist. It is far more heavily on the epic side, and it functions as an interesting way to hear the style of USPM and the specific unique style that Lycanthro has, especially when working with other artists. It gives a more epic twist to darker power metal, which I absolutely love. It fits the vibe of Lycanthro very nicely and exists in a very interesting space that, to me, feels very uniquely Canadian. (I have no idea if that makes sense, but I enjoy it.) As a track, it also slots nicely into the album overall and works well with the tracks around it, as well as working very well as a single. It also has a nice piano backing to a short bridge, which is, once again, always nice to see in power metal of any kind.

Night of the Parasite is the second track on this album to have a featured artist, this one being Stu Block of Into Eternity. This track is a lot more into the heavy metal (and almost speed metal) roots than other tracks. As a track, it fills out the rest of the album with that same epic touch, while maintaining a uniquely heavy sound with the mixed clean and harsh vocals. Mixing clean and harsh vocals can be hard to get exactly right in a melodic subgenre like this, but this track gets it right, especially with the vibe. The speeding solos also fit into the whole vibe quite well, feeling reminiscent of the speed metal roots of power metal. It is a very fun track, with some fun elements that are pretty classic to USPM, but done in a way that feels fresh.

Lost Jerusalem is the instrumental track of the album, existing as a piano solo and sounding like a boss theme straight out of Final Fantasy X. It’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s epic. What is there not to love?

Solaris (Memories in Time) is the ending track of the album, with Lost Jerusalem acting as a lead in, and it feels even more like a boss theme out of Final Fantasy X. It’s a powerful track with some interesting lyrics and a fun set of instrumentals, the driving drums and bassline pushing the power through the rest of the track. There is a piano interlude as well, solidifying this track as a truly Lycanthro song that any fan of Canadian metal and/or nerdy themes in metal will love.

Final thoughts? This is a Lycanthro album that I love, but what else is new? I enjoy power metal, especially when it’s power metal that gets a bit weird and fun with how it sounds and gets a bit nerdy with the lyric inspiration. Fantastic album, fun band, cool dudes, would listen again.