I’m rattling this quick review off the day before Destroyer is out as you need to know about it! Seven tracks of new wave heavy metal – isn’t that what we all need on a Friday?
Amongst the band’s influences are Iron Maiden, and you can hear this the moment that “Achamán” kicks in, as Micah Snow’s bass carries through. Maiden are one of the few bands I know of where the bass is actually audible on every track, probably something to do with the bassist being a founder member…
Production values aside, the songwriting is spot on. The tracks are on the longer side, from 5 to 8 minutes apiece, but never seem to drag. Within each there’s a nice shredding guitar solo courtesy of Ollie Noakes, and a section for Andy Hedges to show off how hard he can hit things with rhythm.
A few singles have already been released, as has news of the band’s involvement in Wildfire 2026. The title track dropped last week and can be enjoyed below, it’s definitely one of the picks out of the seven. Mind you, there are probably six other picks… “Destroyer”, though, has all the hallmarks of a great live song. It’s not one of the longer ones, and it has a cracking bridge which demands air guitaring and fists in the air.
I also rather like “VI Kings” which you won’t have heard yet. Of all the tracks on here, I think it suits Ollie’s voice the best. Having said that, credit to the other two members for their backing vocals. Just enough to help out, such as the choral cries of “Crestfallen” on the closing epic track.
Destroyer doesn’t break the metal mould, but why should it? It’s a heavy metal album full of heavy metal songs and… metal!
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