The Top 100 NWOTHM Albums of All Time (100-51)

After the incredible response to the Top 50 NWOTHM albums of all time list, we decided to expand on it by also shining a light on the next 50. I’d already done all the work anyways haha. We’ll just say this was our plan along, and that we chose to release the list Star Wars style. Also to clarify, this is NOT my personal ranking, but rather one I came to after combing reviews, forums, subreddits, and even interviews to find the most common albums mentioned. I will also stress that this was imperfect, as I did not take into account recency bias. Since the original list also did not take that into consideration, it would feel unfair to do so here. So, without any further ado…

Same rules apply as last time. Limited to 2 albums per artist (so, if an artist has 1 album on the Top 50, they can still have one here. If an artist has 2 in the Top 50, then they cannot), and released after 2008.

100. Dawnbringer – Into the Lair of the Sun God (2012)
Hailing from Chicago, Dawnbringer isn’t a name that is brought up often when it comes to the trad metal scene, and I believe that’s a crying shame! Their brand of black-metal influenced heavy metal came about several years before other acts, such as Nite (also featuring guitarist Scott Hoffman), were doing much of the same, and their lack of thrashier influence led to them not being mentioned alongside underground lords Midnight and Toxic Holocaust. This record, their fifth full-length, and penultimate before their initial breakup, features a magnificent crescendo that at times sounds like Motörhead fused with doom metal, and tells the story of a naive assassin. Chris Black, who handles vocal, drum, bass, and keyboard duties, is a longtime member of the trad metal scene, being involved in High Spirits, Pharaoh, Aktor, and Superchrist.

Bandcamp: https://dawnbringer.bandcamp.com/

99. Night – Raft of the World (2017)
Falling into that odd microgenre within trad metal called ‘adventure metal’ (I have no clue why it’s called that, it’s bands like Wytch Hazel and Hällas), which more or less takes more overt influence from bands like Rush and Blue Öyster Cult than Black Sabbath. The Swedish Night’s third full-length largely eschews a lot of the metal influence that the band had kept attached to their sound on their previous two records, in favor of a more progressive rock direction. In fact, I would say this is a pretty perfect gateway album for new metalheads, as its sound is relatively similar to that of Canadian prog-rock duo Crown Lands, but with a little something extra.

Bandcamp: https://nightband.bandcamp.com/music

98. Legionnaire – Dawn of Genesis (2017)
A band who just recently reunited, as of December 2025, appears on this list with their sole full-length (for now). The Finnish four-piece outfit released an absolute monster of an album that simultaneously intersects between speed metal and epic metal, it’s got that Howardian feel (meaning Robert E. Howard, not Howard the Duck). In particular on the third track, “Shadow Upon the Metropolis”, a decidedly pronounced Manilla Road influence is felt firsthand. Clocking in at just barely over 30 minutes, Legionnaire’s debut album is an outstanding, if all too brief, trad metal offering. With their reformation, I can only wait and see what Legionnaire can cook up in the coming years.

Bandcamp: https://legionnairemetal.bandcamp.com/

97. Vultures Vengeance – The Knightlore (2019)
After two incredible EP’s, the debut full-length from Italy’s Vultures Vengeance did not disappoint. At times towing the line between epic metal and just straight up power metal, but consistently grand in its delivery, its a well-balanced record, despite the occasional lengthy tracks. Truly shining above all else though is the production, with the guitar and bass having just the right amount of fuzz in them to give it a sort of heavy metal grime that a lot of modern metal sorely lacks. Furthermore, Tony Steele’s vocal stylings give the album a pronounced sense of identity that allows it to easily stand out from the plethora of trad metal bands that were just starting to explode onto the scene in 2019.

Bandcamp: https://vulturesvengeance.bandcamp.com/music

96. Sonja- Loud Arriver (2022)
Helmed by former Absu guitarist Melissa Moore, Sonja’s debut release offered a wonderful melding of goth, glam, and grime that few albums have managed to replicate. The level of lust-injected emotionality prevalent throughout the record give it a breathtaking array of uniqueness, and resulted in a trad metal album that skews more toward the Unto Others/Idle Hands side of things. Melissa’s scintillating vocals are, of course, at center stage here, but Loud Arriver is full to the brim with incredible riffs, thundering drums, and riveting basslines. It’s a sexy record, and a sleazy one at that, but I mean those in all of the best ways. This is like if a session of passionate love-making became a metal album, and I love it for that.

Bandcamp: https://sonjaband.bandcamp.com/

95. Trial (SWE) – Vessel (2015)
Sweden’s Trial are something of an unsung hero in the trad metal scene, as hardly anyone discusses them or their incredible brand of metal, which is equal parts doom and goth. Featuring the band’s original vocalist, Linus Johnsson, Vessel opens up with a dirge-like title track to usher in the record like a slow boom of thunder. Musically, Trial (SWE) share much in common with their countrymen in Portrait, though they play at a bit of a slower and more methodical pace. This gives the riff an extra bit of crunch behind them that really makes them register. Throw in the incredible drumming of Martin Svensson, and the fact that the lineup has been mostly unchanged since 2007 (barring the switch in vocalists), and you’ve got an album that rolls ahead like a well-oiled machine.

Bandcamp: https://trialheavymetal.bandcamp.com/

94. Savage Master – Myth, Magic and Steel (2019)
The third full-length from Savage Master opens with the killer title track, wherein frontwoman Stacey Savage’s vocals take the vanguard, though the riffing is no slouch, her delivery is simply infectious and one of her strongest vocal attributes. She brings a raw fervor to her vocals as well, something that I feel truly propels the record into feeling like an old metal album, and not merely a modern one that sounds kind of old. In traditional Savage Master style, they dip their toes into the moor doomy side of things from time to time (see “The Owl” and “High Priestess”, which features a sick chant-like chorus), but they never lose that undiluted power and energy. It’s merely a bonus that Deborah Levine of Lady Beast and the late Sandy Kruger perform guest vocals on the track “Lady of Steel”.

Bandcamp: https://savagemasterofficial.bandcamp.com/

93. Evil Invaders – Feed Me Violence (2017)
The second full-length from one of Belgium’s premier speed metal attacks ups the ante set on their stunningly raw debut, Pulses of Pleasure. Nowhere is the power and attitude of Evil Invaders felt more prominently than in the second track “As Life Slowly Fades”, which features a chorus that occasionally borders on blackened speed metal, such as Eternal Evil. Yet this isn’t a one-note album, as the next track (after a brief instrumental), “Broken Dreams in Isolation” slows the tempo down quite a bit and allows Evil Invaders to showcase a nice degree of methodical playing and storytelling. This is much more than a mere speed metal album, it’s a brutal blitz that passes by like a speeding train.

Bandcamp: https://evilinvaders.bandcamp.com/

92. Air Raid – Point of Impact (2014)
Air Raid’s second full-length, and their only release with future Trial (SWE) vocalist Arthur Andersson, might seem like run-of-the-mill modern trad metal on the surface, but a trained ear will pick up on the nuances of the record. Being their only record with Arthur, this one has a less angsty vibe than their debut EP and full-length with Michael Rinkakis and a more straightforward heavy/speed approach than their later records with Fredrik. As was customary for trad albums around this time, the production is fully on-point with firmly rooting the album in a sort of neo-modern sheen. Each piece of the puzzle is appropriately tuned and mixed, but not to a point that it dilutes the music behind the album.

Bandcamp: https://airraidofficial.bandcamp.com/

91. Luzifer – Iron Shackles (2022)
Consisting of 3/5ths of German speed metal band Vulture, Luzifer’s debut album has held a place near and dear in my heart since the moment it released. As I recovered from having my wisdom teeth removed, I had it on repeat as I played the underrated game Blasphemous, and it’s never left my mind ever since. It’s a genuine masterpiece, everything from the riffs to the atmosphere, it all just works. The riff of the title track is the stuff of legends, and the addition of some sick gothic style keyboard pieces throughout the record only help to propel it even further. Even the instrumental interlude track and the Joachim Witt cover, “Der Goldene Reiter”, don’t feel like filler pieces, but rather as integral parts of one cohesive work.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuziferHM

90. Lady Beast – The Vulture’s Amulet (2020)
Featuring the mighty, and incomparable, vocals of frontwoman Deborah Levine, Lady Beast’s fourth album was the one which turned me on to them. I quickly fell in love with the crunchy riffing and Levine’s storyteller approach to her vocal delivery, and tracks such as “Sacrifice to the Unseen” haven’t left my rotation ever since. An unchanged lineup for over 5 years at the time of release, also featuring Andy Ramage of Argus, the band had achieved a precise level of synergy. By this point in their careers, the band were veterans of the underground, and the concise songwriting and musicianship are a testament to that. This is the type of record that isn’t simply enjoyable, it’s transportive and ripe for the imagination.

Bandcamp: https://ladybeast.bandcamp.com/music

89. Crystal Viper – Crimen Excepta (2012)
The fourth album from Polish trad metal vanguards, Crystal Viper, showcases the perfect midpoint of their style. With incredible mixing, very akin to that of early King Diamond releases, and Marta Gabriel’s incredible high-pitched shrieks and snarls, the behind the boards and microphone everything is at its best. Yet, the instrumentation is truly a show-stealer with a meaty album chock full of incredible riffs, smooth basslines, and some really thunderous drumming. Not to mention the incredible Vader cover as the penultimate track, and Hell vocalist David Bower providing awesome guest vocals for the title track. All-rounder, that’s the best way to describe this record, it’s an all-rounder. It does everything to near peak levels.

Bandcamp: https://www.facebook.com/crystalviperofficial

88. Ambush – Firestorm (2014)
Another who often tows the line between speed metal and heavy metal is Sweden’s Ambush, who dropped two bonafide classics in the early/mid 2010s, the first of which was Firestorm (more on the other later on!). This is the quintessential love letter to 80s heavy metal, with tracks like the eponymous track feeling like something Judas Priest could’ve had on Screaming for Vengeance. Despite that, the record never feels derivative and manages to communicate across a freshness that can at times feel absent from a lot of trad metal. Also the guitar tone on this record, and really just the production in general, is a masterclass in modern metal production.

Bandcamp: https://ambush.bandcamp.com/

87. Wrathblade – God of the Deep Unleashed (2017)
The Greek heavy metal outfit showcased one of the foremost sophomore soars around when they released God of the Deep Unleashed. While their debut was solid, that was how most felt overall, it was just fine. However, this one improves on every possible shortcoming of that first record. Taking the “epic” name to great and grander heights, and living up as a worthy successor to the likes of Manilla Road and Lost Horizon. The incredible harmonies of vocalist Nick Varsamis, who would also sing for early Serpent Rider releases, perfectly capture that sort of ancient world Greco-Roman style of chanting in their cadence. Another aspect that this record does not skimp out on is heaviness, this album is crushingly heavy! Drums that crash like battering rams and basslines like artillery fire, this is a monster.

Bandcamp: https://wrathbladegr.bandcamp.com/

86. Striker – Eyes in the Night (2012)
One of the first trad metal bands I heard during a late night exploration of YouTube was Striker and their video for “Fight For Your Life”, and for that they’ll always hold a special place in my dark heart. With Eyes in the Night being their debut, and featuring some rad album art, this is Striker in its rawest, most angsty, form. Moreover, Striker’s brand of humor is in full-effect (albeit without the musical masterclass of “Fuck Volcanos”), and I consider them lyrically to be almost analogous to Tankard… but with the beer turned down to like 85% instead of at max. Striker are a band who know how to be serious and take things seriously, it’s just way more fun to be a little bit stupid sometimes. This is great, and Dan Cleary’s extraordinary vocals, which also manage to feel sarcastic most of the time, are a huge reason as to why.

Bandcamp: https://striker.bandcamp.com/

85. Lynx – Watcher of Skies (2021)
Germany’s Lynx falls into that category of trad metal that holds with it a decidedly hard rock-infused edge, immediately sparking recollections of such titans of the past like Thin Lizzy and The Rods. Hugely working to its advantage is a production style that sounds like a perfection encapsulation of the style Watcher of Skies is emulating, seriously that guitar tone sizzles. Featuring Marvin Kiefer of Blizzen behind the microphone this go around, the vocals have a sense of familiarity with them, but his command of his voice also gives it a great sense of identity. The pronounced 70s groove make this a record that stands out from the pack of bands who follow in the footsteps of NWOBHM greats.

Bigcartel: https://lynxofficial.bigcartel.com/

84. Freeways – True Bearings (2020)
Freeways are another band whose sound at first glance might not scream “NWOTHM”, but it is most definitely entrenched deeply in it. The riffs are unapologetically metal, with many not sounding out of place in some NWOBHM classics, and Jacob Montgomery’s incredible vocals give the album an almost hypnotic feel. Like their countrymen in Tonnerre, Freeways are at the forefront of a small, but growing, movement of modern hard rock/metal acts that do the key thing that gives them metal cred (in my opinion), they have their own sound. Freeways are a unique band, there’s an artistry behind every note and harmony that is largely lost in the doldrums of modern mainstream music. Whenever someone says rock or metal are dead, you point them towards Freeways, you show them The Neptune Power Federation, and so many others. While executive and algorithm fueled mainstream is decayed, the underground has never been stronger.

Bandcamp: https://freeways410.bandcamp.com/

83. Attic – Sanctimonious (2017)
While Germany’s Attic are unabashedly King Diamond/Mercyful Fate worshippers, that shouldn’t keep anyone from checking out the sheer majesty on display in their sophomore record, Sanctimonious. A concept album, which tells the story of an abusive abbess who terrorizes the nuns under her care, this is definitely a record best enjoyed in its entirety, rather than individual tracks (though that’s not to say that there aren’t standouts, as there certainly are). Ambitious, lengthy, and at times grandiose, Attic’s Sanctimonious is an incredible album, unique in both its approach and in its execution. An already exceptional album is bookended by an absolute all-timer in “There Is No God”.

Bandcamp: https://attic-vanrecords.bandcamp.com/

82. Midnight Priest – Aggressive Hauntings (2019)
The second English-language release from Portugal’s Midnight Priest is a wonderful affair of gothic and horror movie infused metal (I mean, it opens with a dark and macabre keyboard introduction) before seamlessly bleeding into “Funeral”. At the time helmed by Lex Thunder, who would later found Toxikull, his vocals give a nice bit of sleaze and somehow a bit of King Diamond-isms to the music. At times sounding somewhat glam inspired, and at times the record sounds more like Mercyful Fate worship. Alongside the dearly-missed Ravensire, Midnight Priest sits at the spearhead of Portuguese heavy metal.

Bandcamp: https://midnightpriest.bandcamp.com/

81. Morgul Blade – Fell Sorcery Abounds (2021)
The debut album from the Philly-based four-piece boasts influences and sounds from across the board, ranging from trad metal to black metal to dungeon synth and even a bit of medieval tavern music (see “Oak in the Mist”). From the absolute otherworldly clean-singing at play on occasion, that is never overused, to the sheer brutality during the title-drop in the title track, I’ve never been able to stop listening to this album. It took me by complete surprise when it first released, the blend of black metal and trad metal wasn’t something I’d really heard before then. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the major albums which really sent me down the rabbit hole of more extreme metal, and is one that I proudly recommend to people.

Bandcamp: https://morgulblade.bandcamp.com/

80. Mega Colossus – Riptime (2021)
Raleigh’s Mega Colossus have been around since the mid-2000s, releasing a full-length and two EPs under their original name of simply Colossus. Since that name change, the band has ascended to incredible heights, and their fourth full-length release, Riptime, is their peak as of now. Their uncanny brand of heavy metal brings a sense of adventure and almost whimsy to the crowded, and occasionally overly-serious, trad metal scene. With a sound that varies not just from album-to-album, but from song-to-song, while still keeping the same overall vibe, Mega Colossus are in many ways a sort of spiritual son of trad metal champions (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg. I also have to shoutout the sci-fi inspired lyrics on songs like “Vigilo Confido”, which is the only song about one of my favorite video games (XCOM), so Mega Colossus eternally has my love for that one.

Bandcamp: https://colossusmetal.bandcamp.com/

79. Evil Survives – Metal Vengeance (2008)
This Canadian band arrived in the early days of the trad metal scene, forming in 2008 and dropping the debut album in that same year. Rough, raw, and overflowing with a sense of youthful vigor, Metal Vengeance is a fun record that really picks up in its second half. Tracks such as “Poseidon Pounds the Coast” and the epic closer “The Plains of Ilium/Beasts of the Odyssey” show that there is far more to Evil Survives than just balls to the wall fun and feisty metal. Bassist Spencer Trout is absolutely shredding it, particularly on “Metal”, with sizzling basslines. While Karl Warkentin’s vocal styles might not be for everyone, they are his own and that alone warrants merit and cred. I can’t quite think of a close analogue to his style beyond maybe early Queensrÿche or a sped-up interpretation of Arch-era Fates Warning.

Bandcamp: https://evil-survives.bandcamp.com/

78. Argus – Boldly Stride the Doomed (2011)
The sophomore release from the Pennsylvania-based epic doom quintet is, like the rest of their discography, a masterclass in the genre. Butch Balich’s vocals are reminiscent of both Messiah Marcolin and Mark the Shark, while still holding their own identity. After a brief introduction, Boldly Stride the Doomed opens up with a track that is much more up-tempo than one might expect from an epic doom record, with some of the most groovy basslines I’ve heard in ages. It’s in the name ‘epic’, but this record truly feels like it. The production amplifies the record to grand heights and more than earns its ‘epic’ moniker. Nothing I say can truly prepare you for the sheer wizardry at play during the course of the penultimate track, “Pieces of Your Smile”. It needs to be heard to be believed.

Bandcamp: https://argusmetal.bandcamp.com/music

77. Flight – A Leap Through Matter (2018)
Another from the vaguely defined “adventure metal” microgenre, Norway’s Flight soared to great heights on their sophomore release. It’s the sort of 70s prog rock love letter (but more Rush and Wishbone Ash than Pink Floyd or Chicago) that can fall in between what is and isn’t heavy metal, but as is common in the genre, the songwriting and instrumentation are rooted in heavy metal (after all, heavy metal and prog rock developed and blossomed together). This is a concise and complete record that acts as a homage to so many different pieces of music history that it’s almost hard to pin down.

Bandcamp: https://flightheavymetal.bandcamp.com/

76. Portrait – At One With None (2021)
Their fifth record continued the band’s seemingly unending upward trajectory, with their standard blend of gothic, power metal, doom metal, and Mercyful Fate-style black metal, once again coming together to form something unique in the genre. Unlike some prior releases though, this is where Portrait really began to let some more progressive elements shine through, particularly in the song structure, with most songs clocking in at nearly 5 minutes. Nowhere is this shift felt more apparent than in the 9-minute-long “Ashen” which, despite the length, never once feels like a drag. That is also what I can commend for the album as a whole, it teeters near an hour in length, but it’s no slog to get through. There’s an occult-tinged atmosphere at play here that gives the album a little extra something special.

Bandcamp: https://portraitsweden.bandcamp.com/

75. Ironflame – Blood Red Victory (2020)
The album that launched Ironflame to the frontlines of the trad metal scene, an even-more impressive feat when considering that it’s technically a solo project (and I do mean solo). Andrew D’Cagna, vocalist of Icarus Witch, performs all instruments and vocals himself and uses a set of musicians for live performances only. To say that Andrew is a top-notch musicianship would be an understatement; his vocals are staggering, the riffs are tight, the bass is smooth, and the drums are pounding. Lyrically, this is stuff that would make Crom proud, it’s the perfect sort of sword-and-sorcery stuff that really works with this style of music.

Bandcamp: https://ironflame.bandcamp.com/

74. Lord Fist – Wilderness of Hearts (2020)
An under the radar pick to be sure, but one that makes every moment of its sub 35-minute runtime count. On their second, and most recent (as of 2025), release, Finland’s Lord Fist ironed out the few kinks from their first record to an almost absurd degree. It can’t be overstated just how tight this record sounds and feels. Vocalist Perttu Koivunen has a oddly melodic approach to the more traditional speed metal style of vocals, like if you crossed Bruce Dickinson and Dan Beehler of Exciter. Most impressive though is the sense of blues injected into the guitars, it’s almost imperceptible at first, but it really becomes apparent by the halfway mark and kicks the album up a notch.

Bandcamp: https://lordfist.bandcamp.com/

73. Bewitcher – Cursed Be Thy Kingdom (2021)
The third album from Portland’s own black/speed warriors, Bewitcher, opens in a way one might not expect, with a gorgeous acoustic piece conveying melancholy and reflection. This brief introduction showcases just how talented the lads behind the music truly are, showing off their mastery of melody before unleashing a proverbial onslaught of nonstop excellent riffs and abrasive vocals. Yet despite that, Bewitcher retains the harmonies and melodies of speed metal all throughout, mixing them into a wonderful array of metal goodness. It’s like when a cookie has both white and dark chocolate chips on it (that’s a good thing).

Bandcamp:

72. High Spirits – Another Night (2011)
Influenced more by the likes of Scorpions and Dokken than by the more commonly cited bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath, High Spirits infuse just a bit of glam and sleaze into their brand of trad metal, and it gives them a wholly unique feeling and atmosphere that really only Hitten comes close to. Bursting right out of the gate with the anthemic title track, and never once letting up for a second. Don’t be fooled or put off by the mentions of glam and sleaze above, this is nothing like the likes of Wig Wam or Crashdïet or Steel Panther. If those acts are a parody of glam as a movement, then High Spirits is an homage. Also of note that High Spirits is another one-person project, with all instruments and lyrics performed by Chris Black in studio, and using a live line-up for touring.

Bandcamp: https://highspiritsmetal.bandcamp.com/

71. Night Demon – Darkness Remains (2017)
Helmed by Jarvis Leatherby, who is more-or-less the NWOTHM scene’s equivalent to a 5-star general who does countless work for the community and movement as a whole. Jarvis is at least partly responsible for the reformation and subsequent ascension of Cirith Ungol, who went from a nifty oddity in heavy metal history to an absolute titan that became respected by the entirety of metaldom. Night Demon, his premier project in which he delivers gruff and sometimes near Danzig-like vocals as well as plays bass, has also grown to grand heights, becoming a stalwart vanguard of the NWOTHM scene as it too exploded in the late 2010s. The incredible riffs, glorious guitar solos, scatterbrain inducing basslines, and of course the great drumming from Dustin Squires that often evokes Burr and Powell. Night Demon’s second album is practically the ultimate trad metal album. The “Planet Caravan”-like closing title track is an immaculate way to end the already fantastic album.

Bandcamp: https://nightdemon.bandcamp.com/

70. Holy Grail – Times of Pride and Peril (2016)
The final album from the titans of the early days of NWOTHM has become a turning point in the chapter of trad metal, right when we entered a new phase of the movement. Featuring blood from Huntress, White Wizzard, Persekutor, and Intranced, all of whom deliver their own personality to the music. In terms of production, Holy Grail has always felt the most modern of the trad metal scene, with its sound crisp and clear, though it still retains the DIY edge. Obviously at the forefront is James-Paul Luna’s absolutely insane vocal performance throughout, which is sensational. But the drumming of Tyler Meahl is in particular on another level, as is the basswork of Blake Mount, and the twin guitar attack of Eli Santana and Alex Lee.

Bandcamp: https://holygrail.bandcamp.com/

69. Blazon Rite – Endless Halls of Golden Totem (2021)
Very much worshipping at the altar of Manilla Road, Blazon Rite is the sort of arcane heavy metal that is practically designed for DnD and sword & sorcery nerds like myself to enjoy. Vocalist Johnny Halladay is truly flexing his storytelling chops with his delivery. A steady lineup since their formation, Blazon Rite has been operating like a well-oiled machine for some time now, and the sheer level of cohesion on this, their debut full-length, cannot be overstated. Pierson Roe pulls triple duty as lead guitarist, bassist, and synths, and he somehow manages to slay it at each one of them. The riffs are memorable and the tone is crisp. Rhythm guitarist James Kirn trudges along with gusto and precision, while drummer Ryan Haley is shining bright (particularly on “Executioner’s Woe”). The incredible closing track that at times bridges both doom metal and speed metal together is a standout to be sure.

Bandcamp: https://blazonrite.bandcamp.com/

68. Manacle – No Fear to Persevere… (2018)
Clocking in at just a hair below 30 minutes, Manacle’s sole release (for now!) might be considered an EP by some, but as a lot of trad metal albums tend to float that half-hour mark, it’s a necessary inclusion. Featuring previous members of Axxion and a future member of Smoulder on bass, No Fear to Persevere… is a wonderful mix of raw heavy metal chops and a nice coat of polish overtop it. Vocalist Kevin Pereira delivers a jaw-dropping performance throughout, showcasing his incredible set of pipes. Like many on this list, this is another one that benefits so greatly from the incomparable production. Falling somewhere between heavy and speed metal, Manacle’s debut album is a quick listen, and with the talent behind the music, is simply not one for trad metal fans to miss.

Bandcamp: https://manacleheavymetal.bandcamp.com/

67. Cauldron – Burning Fortune (2011)
The sophomore album from one of the faces of trad metal, Cauldron’s Burning Fortune dropped as one of the first droplets that signaled the forthcoming storm of NWOTHM bands. Their style is much in-line with Enforcer, albeit slowed down, and even more so with Haunt. Yet there is one band that stands above the rest in terms of where Cauldron draws influence, and that being Dokken. At times this record is straight up Dokken worship (and rightly so, as while they’re a respected act of 80s metal, they truly deserve hallowed status), while it still manages to retain its own identity. From the onset with the infectious “All or Nothing” through to the scintillating closer “Taken By Desire”, Cauldron’s second release offers a more polished experience than their debut (more on it later). And oh god, the bass tone on this record is so groovy.

Bandcamp: https://cauldronmetal.bandcamp.com/

66. Walpyrgus – Walpyrgus Nights (2017)
Featuring members from Daylight Dies, Twisted Tower Dire, and While Heaven Wept, Walpyrgus’ debut and, to date, sole, album brings together a crescendo of influences from across the metal sphere to create something unique. Right from the get-go, this one kicks into high-gear and never once lets up. It’s easy to quickly fall in love with the melodic vocal style of Jonny Aune (TTD), specifically on the album opener “Dead of Night”, and he’s not afraid to make it gruff when need be (see “Dead Girls”). A major show-stealer for me is the arrangement of the album in general, everything just fits in a way that I can’t quite explain. The little nuggets of keyboards are fun extra sprinkles on top of an already complete piece.

Bandcamp: https://walpyrgus.bandcamp.com/

65. Chevalier – A Call to Arms (2017)
The debut release from Chevalier is included here as a bit of a technicality, as, while it is officially designated as an EP, it is over 30 minutes long and that puts it within the same range as many other NWOTHM full-length records. A Call to Arms sits most likely among the most raw sounding releases on this list, the sheer level of intensity and angst delivered behind every pluck of the guitar or bass strings and the force of every drum. Frontwoman Emma Grönqvist’s vocal style has a bit of every thing, most notably Kate de Lombaert from Acid and Wendy O. Williams (RIP) from Plasmatics.

Bandcamp: https://chevalier.bandcamp.com/

64. Ambush – Desecrator (2015)
Returning for the second appearance on this list, Sweden’s Ambush took everything that worked on their already stellar debut record and kicked it up a notch. With the same lineup as the debut, Desecrator is very much an album that tells the story of growth for the young band. “Possessed by Evil” kicking it off with a no-nonsense approach, straight into the earwormy “Night of the Defilers”, and then the incredible title track. It’s definitely an album that unleashes the opening salvo with full-force, but never once did it let up or feel like a drag. The closer “The Seventh Seal” being an absolute mind blower is proof of that, seriously it needs to be listened to.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ambushsweden

63. Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost (2020)
England’s Wytch Hazel offer something wholly unique in the trad metal sphere, an uncanny sound that feels reminiscent of Church of the Cosmic Skull and acts like Ashbury. They’re another that falls within that vaguely defined ‘adventure metal’ moniker, and another that makes that niche even harder to give definition to. Their music feels equal parts old school and bardic, to modern and hymnal. While their faith-based lyrics might put off some listeners, I find them to be captivating. Coming from someone who doesn’t subscribe to any faith, Wytch Hazel’s lyrics are rooted in the grandiose sides of Biblical storytelling, and less in the more ‘religious’, for lack of a better term, aspects. All of this uniqueness comes together in a way that is strangely entrancing and near impossible to put down or shut off.

Bandcamp: https://wytchhazel.bandcamp.com/

62. Cruel Force – The Rise of Satanic Might (2010)
The debut from the German blackened speed outfit remains a linchpin of the genre. A perfect storm of grime-ridden distorted riffs and pained growls, and though that ‘speed’ moniker may turn some off, Cruel Force knows when to slow things down a bit. This manipulation of tempo allows them to increase the strength of the eventual thrashier sections. Many may not believe that black/speed/thrash belongs on a list like this, but I disagree, the overall riffs and tone of the guitar are so rooted in NWOBHM (this record is unashamedly Venom worship), and the First Wave of Black Metal, that Cruel Force is certainly a part of the scene.

Bandcamp: https://cruelforceofficial.bandcamp.com/

61. Cauldron – Chained to the Nite (2009)
Another act making their second appearance on this list, Cauldron’s debut offers arguably the rawest sounding album on this list (seriously the tone for the guitars on this one is the stuff of legends). At its core, the production on this record reminds me of early Chastain and Hellion releases, it’s gritty and it’s dirty and it’s perfection. From the sultry cover art down to the incredible Black ‘n’ Blue cover song to close out the album, Cauldron’s sophomore release is a time capsule to the nescient days of NWOTHM and a testament to their status as a vanguard of the movement.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CAULDRONmetal

60. Christian Mistress – Possession (2012)
A band who has more in common with the likes of Cauchemar, with their folkish tinged metal that occasionally flirts with the psychedelic and with doom, but with riffs that are more in line with Diamond Head and early Iron Maiden. Helmed by vocalist Christine Davis, who commands the album with equal parts gravelly singing and other times hypnotic, much akin to someone like Jinx Dawson of Coven. The dual-guitar attack of Sparbel and McClain bring enough extraordinary riffing to fill the Nile (pretty sure that’s a saying), as evidenced especially in the opening riff of the title track. If psychedelic doom metal is a thing, then I would definitely call Christian Mistress ‘psychedelic heavy metal’.

Bandcamp: https://christianmistress.bandcamp.com/

59. Capilla Ardiente – The Siege (2019)
Epic doom is one of the NWOTHM movement’s main splinter groups, and Capilla Ardiente has risen to become a major player in the scene. With crushing riffs, a grand atmosphere, and occasionally near-operatic vocals, The Siege, their sophomore release stands proudly on this list as a true standout in a burgeoning genre. And at less than an hour of runtime, it’s anything but bloated or dull. The tracks are long because they have to be, not because the band drags their carcasses to the finish line. Also shoutout to Procession, another epic doom metal project that features multiple members of Capilla Ardiente.

Bandcamp: https://capillaardiente-northernsilence.bandcamp.com/

58. Lunar Shadow – Far From Light (2017)
The first album from this German act that manages to blend both heavy metal and post-punk together into one brooding smoothie is a treat to the ears. Comprised of lengthy instrumental sequences that, for some reason, remind me of both Lord of the Rings and of Blue Öyster Cult. Alex Vornam delivers an almost melancholic and mournful performance as lead vocalist on this, his last release with Lunar Shadow. With only one of its eight songs clocking in below 6 minutes, and two of them at over 9, this is a beefy record to be sure. Yet the influences are so varied from across not just metal, but rock n roll as a whole, that it’s such a fun listen to try and pick out where all of the fragments came from.

Bandcamp: https://lunarshadow.bandcamp.com/

57. Blazon Stone – Return to Port Royal (2013/2020)
Initially a studio-only band, with Cederick Forsberg handling instrumental and arrangement duties and the first album featuring vocalist Erik Nordkvist (later of Candle). Since 2019, following a brief break-up, Blazon Stone has become a full-fledged touring act, and one of their first acts after reforming was to re-record their 2013 debut album. You can take your pick on which version to put here, as they are more or less the same, with some difference for trained listeners and fans to note. BS falls into the quasi-genre of ‘pirate metal’, which basically means they’re a heavy/power band that sings about pirates sometimes. However, they take the Running Wild approach in that, while that is their lyrical themes sometimes, they don’t make being pirates their gimmick, and instead they portray themselves as a serious and legit band, and their music is a testament to that. No gimmicks here, just balls to the wall heavy metal.

Bandcamp: https://blazonstone.bandcamp.com/

56. Sumerlands – s/t (2016)
Featuring vocalist Phil Swanson, Sumerlands’ debut release offers a rawer approach to epic metal than its successor. Hitting you right in the face out of the gate with “Seventh Seal”, and not letting up for the entirety of its breezy 32-minute runtime, Sumerlands’ first outing stands as one of the formative records for the NWOTHM scene. Released in the same month as Eternal Champion’s debut (more on that later), the pair helped to lay the groundwork for what would soon become an explosion of epic metal bands, opening up a fresh vein for trad metal to tap. Also, I can’t explain this, but this whole album reminds me of the Sovngarde portion of Skyrim’s main story, do with that what you will.

Bandcamp: https://sumerlands.bandcamp.com/album/dreamkiller

55. Haunt – Burst Into Flame (2018)
The first album from the California workhorses began a hot streak that we still haven’t seen extinguished. The brainchild of Trevor William Church, who pulls double-duty as both vocalist and guitarist, Haunt have steadily released 9 full-length albums, and an unplugged album, in the years since their debut. Church’s vocals are uncanny and breathy, giving an odd sense of weight behind them, while I found the more melody-driven guitar playing to be reminiscent of Mott the Hoople (for some damn reason). With drummer “Wolfy” Wilson, guitarist John William Tucker (a frequent collaborator of Church’s), and bassist Matthew Wilhoit, in tow and Haunt’s debut record is a tour de force of heavy metal goodness. As an additional bit of praise, I positively adore the guitar sound all over this record.

Bandcamp: https://hauntthenation.bandcamp.com/

54. Spell – Opulent Decay (2020)
Spell are a curious one in the trad metal scene, as their style is what I would call as being acidic and psychedelic (as evidenced clearly from this album’s opener “Psychic Death” and beyond). When the Metal Archives say your most similar artists are Cauldron, Haunt, and Wytch Hazel, three bands that Spell sounds nothing like, then you know that the band has a truly unique approach to heavy metal music. The vocals are hauntingly ethereal, with some crazy Rush-like basslines, and genuinely smooth riffing, this is a total package, even if it might be a bit of an odd one at first. Seriously, on my first listen of this record, I couldn’t get into it, but now I see it as a modern classic.

Bandcamp: https://spellofficial.bandcamp.com/

53. Evil Invaders – Shattering Reflection (2022)
Five years removed from their sophomore release, Feed Me Violence, Evil Invaders returned with a vengeance in 2022. The overall rawness has been refined with a maturity that doesn’t sacrifice the intensity of the music behind it. There’s a touch more melody behind the tracks this time around, and Evil Invaders even plays around a bit with dipping into ballad territory (see “In Deepest Black”). Though their previously discussed occasional touches into black metal do remain drizzled throughout, like powdered sugar over a cake. As it stands, this is Evil Invaders most complete work, with some incredibly high highs.

Bandcamp: https://evilinvaders.bandcamp.com/

52. Skull Fist – Chasing the Dream (2014)
Their debut landed a spot on the original list, and its follow-up only narrowly missed the cut in joining it. With a largely unchanged lineup, drums are now played by Chris Stephenson in a session role, the overall vibes are similar to the debut album yet they also contain senses of growing maturity. This is present in both the instrumentation and in the lyric writing, as Chasing the Dream features a number of tracks that I couldn’t picture on Skull Fist’s killer debut. This was also their last album before their brief initial breakup. I seriously challenge someone to turn off the incredible earworm that is “Bad For Good”.

Bigcartel: https://skullfist.bigcartel.com/

51. Kerrigan – Bloodmoon (2023)
With a line-up consisting of most of the funeral doom band Lone Wanderer, you might expect Kerrigan to be on the slower side of trad metal, but you would be dead wrong. This is practically speed metal at points, while retaining the melody and harmony of heavy metal. The whole vibe of the title track is cohesive and arranged to absolute perfection, while “Against the Westwind” injects a bit of epic doom into the formula. Full disclosure: I was never able to get into this one at release, but in re-listening to it for this list, it’s definitely became a personal favourite in recent years.

Bandcamp: https://kerrigan.bandcamp.com/

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REVIEW: LORDS OF THE TRIDENT’s Live In Japan – “Quite The Unique Experience”

https://bravewords.com/album-reviews/review-lords-of-the-tridents-live-in-japan-quite-the-unique-experience/

#REVIEW #LORDSOFTHETRIDENT #LiveInJapan #QuiteTheUniqueExperience #EP #BraveWords #metal #music

Interview with Fellowship’s Matthew Corry and Callum Tuffen

By Eldritch Elitist

Anyone who knows me will know that I attended 2024’s Mad With Power festival in Madison, Wisconsin for one reason: Fellowship. While the opportunity to engage in lowercase fellowship with various friends and colleagues was enticing, I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to experience the Fellowship: England’s rapidly up-and-coming power metal band, and an act that has been very special for me since their earliest days, performing their first-ever show in North America. Likewise, I wasn’t about to miss my chance to sit down with Matthew Corry (vocals and lyrics) and Callum Tuffen (drums and songwriting) and pick their brains about what makes Fellowship tick. On the day prior to this interview, I was fortunate enough to witness the band debut three new songs alongside the cover art and tracklist for their upcoming sophomore record, The Skies Above Eternity, which gave us much more to talk about than I had anticipated.

I was escorted backstage to meet Matt and Cal (by none other than Ty Christian, vocalist of Lords of the Trident and founder of Mad With Power), and was genuinely surprised to find that Matt, the little hobbit man who lives in my phone and sings directly to my soul through my earbuds, is basically as tall as I am – and I’m 6’3”. He and Callum greeted me as warmly as one might expect from a band famous for songs of camaraderie and self worth. When I told Matt that he and I had spoken on occasion through Twitter DMs, he responded with a delightfully genuine “Oh, right! Eldritch Elitist!” in what might be the highlight of my tenure at this blog. We then shuffled into a small, hot interview room; what follows are Matt and Cal’s own words, lightly edited for the sake of clarity and flow. I began by asking Matt and Callum how they came to headline an overseas festival with nothing but a debut LP under their belt.

Callum: “I spoke with Ty a bit about this. They like to bring in the bands that haven’t really “made it,” so I think that’s part of it. We’ve known Ty for quite a while, and he’s probably one of the most supportive guys in power metal today.”

Matt: “From what I’ve heard, a couple of years ago, shortly after our Fellowship EP first came out, people were already trying to get Fellowship over here. They saw Ty as “the method” for getting Fellowship over here within a couple of years, as opposed to having to wait five or six years for us to get big enough to be viable. They just kept poking Ty, and Ty, being the wonderful human that he is, said ‘you know what? Let’s try it.’ He emailed us and asked ‘are you guys up for it?’ And hell yeah, we were up for it!”

Callum: “I always had this fear that it wouldn’t actually happen, but here we are.”

Ty himself had actually covered Fellowship’s “Glint” on Lords of the Trident’s YouTube channel, long before they had signed to Scarlet Records or recorded their first LP. Matt has a small cameo in that video, so I’m curious whether that video happened before talks began for Fellowship to join the Mad With Power roster.

Matt: “Yeah, that was way before. After ‘Glint’ came out, Ty messaged us, initially saying how much he loved the song, and if we would mind if he did a cover of it. I sent him some files and he did the cover, which blew us away. I think that was the first…”

Callum: “It’s just crazy good, isn’t it?”

Matt: “Yeah, so good, and it was the first sort of ‘proper’ vocal cover of any of our stuff – which is difficult stuff. So there were immediately ‘buds for life’ kind of vibes. And then he started talking about the New Wave of Nice Metal Buds, which is so our vibe: positivity, support, all that jazz. And after that, I did a little opera video with him, for fun, and I got to show my cat to the internet. Around a year later, he emailed us saying ‘it’s time.’”

The New Wave of Nice Metal Buds that Matt refers to is Ty’s code of conduct, by which the festival is operated. It was created to promote kindness, inclusivity, and mindfulness within the Mad With Power community, and applies to the bands and fans therein. While it’s difficult to say whether this code of conduct is responsible for the festival’s atmosphere, it should be noted that the Mad With Power experience is indeed one of utmost positivity. In other words: The vibes are on point.

Since Fellowship’s inception, I’ve found it remarkable how well they balance their atmosphere of utmost sincerity against the cheese and excess of power metal, especially when similar bands – most notably Twilight Force – conduct themselves as if they are “in” on a shared joke with their audience. Cal and Matt had clearly considered this contradiction, as it stems from their unique songwriter-lyricist partnership.

Callum: “So… When I say Twilight Force is a huge inspiration for me, they’re not the only ones. In power metal, yeah, of course, they’re an inspiration for me. But I take a lot of inspiration from other bands. I don’t know if you’d pick up on the influence from our songs, but there are elements from bands like early Avenged Sevenfold, and a lot of older pop stuff, like Elton John and ABBA. I try to get across that it’s never meant to be ‘jokey,’ but at the same time, I wanted to make people feel happy, the way that kind of music makes me feel. All I can do is put out the best stuff I possibly can, that makes me feel good, and hopefully, it comes across that way to everyone else.”

Matt: “I think lyrically, this is one of those unique musical combos that I don’t think either me or Cal really expected, or would have sought out naturally. Cal’s music is not the type of thing that I would ever write, and I don’t think my lyrics are really the type of thing that Cal would immediately go for. But once we ended up putting them together, it became this symbiotic marriage. We never thought it would go crazy the way that it has, we never dreamed of coming to the States or anything when we first collaborated. I think the first thing we ever did together was record ‘Glint.’ That was almost like my trial for the band, in a way. And after the day of doing it, we just sort of sat around a pub. None of us had a drink, we just sat around a pub.”

Callum: “I think that was in London.”

Matt: “Yeah, that was in London! And we were just like… ‘Yeah, we made something really cool, didn’t we?’ When I first came into power metal – because I wasn’t into power metal, I am now, but I wasn’t at all when I joined the band – the music that everyone was making, and that Cal had sent me, was just so fundamentally uplifting. I didn’t want to take anything away from that. Cal has such a unique ability to convey really complicated emotions. There are a lot of really happy bits, and really sort of tense bits in Cal’s music, but because it flows so freely between them, it feels like just giving it one emotion would cheapen it somehow. So that desire to take it seriously, I think, is where we really align.”

I am intrigued by Matt’s mention that the recording of “Glint” was his first act as a member of Fellowship, and wonder aloud whether that recording was the version that made it onto their EP, and eventually their debut LP.

Matt: “Yep.”

Callum: “Mmm…”

Matt: “No?”

There is a bit of back and forth between Matt and Cal at this point about whether the adjustments made after the initial recording constitute a “different version” of the song, but their ultimate consensus is that what we hear on the record is what was recorded on day one. What’s even more interesting is that the rest of the band had never met Matt before that day. The official recording we have of “Glint,” as I see it, is the true beginning of Fellowship as we know them today.

Looking from the past to the future, I steer the subject to the newly announced album, The Skies Above Eternity. Specifically, I was curious about the press release’s mention of direct inspirations from the Japanese power metal scene, and how those ideas were incorporated while staying true to the Fellowship sound.

Callum: “So obviously, being such a huge power metal fan, I stumbled deeply into the Japanese realm, and I grew to love a lot of what they do harmonically. In my opinion, they do things quite differently from European and American power metal. They do a lot more intricate things, and they also delve further into neoclassical elements. I wanted to take a lot of influence from that and try to apply it to our sound without it being forced, if you know what I mean. And it wasn’t only power metal. I was listening to Japanese pop, and weirdly enough, they also do the same sort of harmonic things that are done in Japanese power metal; bands like YOASOBI, and other J-Pop artists. I tried to apply that harmonic style to our sound. We do it especially in ‘Hold Up Your Hearts (Again),’ and in ‘The Bitter Winds.’ That’s a real Galneryus-style song.”

At this point, I can’t help but remark that Galneryus is my favorite band, and – having heard “The Bitter Winds” live the day prior – that there are moments that remind me of Galneryus tracks like “Angel of Salvation.”

Matt: “Every time we’re in the car together, Cal tries to get me more and more into Galneryus. And every time we leave the car, I do add a Galneryus song to my Spotify playlist. I haven’t gone hardcore yet, but at the rate we’re going, I’ll get there. ‘Angel of Salvation’ was the first one Cal showed me where he was like ‘THIS.’

Matt makes an enthusiastic hand gesture to express Cal’s intensity towards Galneryus, implying a level of excitement with which I am all too familiar.

Branching off from our discussion of Japanese music, I ask Matt and Cal if there are any ideas on the upcoming album that feel risky, or that fans might not be expecting.

Callum: “Yes.”

Matt: “Yeah, definitely. I think after album one, we really wanted to make sure that… personally, I really don’t want Fellowship to be one of those bands that finds success with a sound and then never moves on. But I really want to make sure that we always have that fundamental joy that pervades the sort of “core” of what we do in everything. And I want – just personally, lyrically – I would love for each album to have just a slightly different ‘flavor’ of how we convey that joy, like ‘what’s an element of that joy we’re really tackling?’ The first album was very much about self-affirmation and self-discovery, finding oneself. This album is a lot darker. We have a song called ‘Victim,’ which, I think a year ago, no one would ever have predicted as a song title coming out of our band.”

EE: “It stood out to me when I was looking at the tracklist.”

Matt: “Yeah. This is ‘Light through the darkness,’ essentially. If I were to say there’s an overarching theme to this album, it would be that you can find joy in every situation, no matter how bleak it is. And finding that joy is worthwhile in and of itself, no matter how hard it seems, or how hard it is. Life is worth living, shortly. And ‘Victim’ is one of the songs where it most paints a picture that is very bleak, but finds a sort of ray of light in the middle of it.

After Matt remarks on finding different “flavors” (or “flavours,” as he puts it) of joy, I ask about the contrast of the bright, orange cover from The Saberlight Chronicles, and whether the darker, purple cover of The Skies Above Eternity was an intentional choice to help fit its more dour lyrical tone.

Callum: “There are a couple of things I wanted on this cover. I wanted… I wanted a…”

Cal pauses in search of the right words.

Matt: “Can you tell these were long conversations?”

Callum: “I wanted a cool looking castle, in the background -”

Matt: “He’s obsessed with the castle!”

Callum: “In the background! I also wanted purple – it suits the sound. I don’t really know why, I just feel like it suits the sound.”

Matt: “He’s not actually synesthetic, but Cal has so much color association. He’ll make a song and I’ll have a first pass, lyrically. Often, we end up in a conversation – I think it happened two or three times on this album – where something was close to the vibe, but it didn’t quite match what was in Cal’s head. And pretty much every time, he says “this song is blue,” or “this song is purple,” and that actually really helps me in terms of finding that vibe. The album art was very much a reflection of that. We actually had two passes of the album art this time, so if you buy the vinyl, you’ll see an early attempt at sort of finding the right vibe on the inner sleeve.”

Callum: “I just absolutely love this album art. To me, everything matches.”

Matt: “Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s amazing, Péter Sallai’s work.”

Callum: “Going back to the question, though, you obviously had ideas for the album art as well.”

Matt: “Yeah. There is a story behind every Fellowship album, and I’m hoping that I will find the time that there always will be. I obviously want the songs to stand on their own. But if we can have little bits of the lyrics which find their way into the creation of the front cover, and we combine that with the vibe that Cal can create with the music – which is very purple on this album! – we get that. You’ve got this really cool magic star thing being shattered by a warrior. It’s very evocative of a ‘battling against something difficult in a wasteland’ kind of emotion. We’re really excited, it’s really cool.”

I agree with Matt and Cal that the art is fantastic – to the point where I had bought a shirt featuring the album’s artwork the day before, without having heard a single note of it. As Matt touched on the story for the new album’s concept, I ask if there would be any extra media materials accompanying the record, such as the novella Matt wrote to accompany The Saberlight Chronicles.

Matt: ”There will be a novella for every album that we do. I am committed to saying that. I really mostly say that just to make me do it. But yeah, there is a novella coming for this album. It’s going to be very, very different from the first one. The band hasn’t read it yet, because it’s not finished yet, but… it will be! As soon as I can, I’m finishing it. It’s pretty much done.

“Everything in Fellowship… firstly, it is worth saying that all of the story stuff is very consciously in the background. The origin of the novella is as a writing tool, to keep album one lyrically fresh, and it just sprawled into a novella. I love that idea, so now we’re doing it every time. Everything exists in the same universe, where the characters of Fellowship are represented in the prologue and epilogue of every book as storytellers. Each album is then a story that we tell, which will have unique characters, and will have unique ideas. And the bookends are the tale of the Fellowship itself, which is a set of immortal storytellers, cursed to tell every story from history, that they experience whenever they are asked.”

I had planned at this point to ask Brad Wosko, the band’s lead guitarist, about the challenges that come with adapting the guitar parts of former lead guitarist Sam Browne (who is still a studio member, but no longer performs live) to his own playstyle. It says a lot about how in sync the members of Fellowship are that Matt is able to provide a detailed answer on Brad’s behalf.

Matt: “Firstly, huge props to Brad, he’s worked so hard over the last couple of years.”

EE: “I could tell.”

I’m referring here to Brad’s performance at Mad With Power, where he played most of the solos with incredible accuracy, in relation to how Sam Browne recorded them on The Saberlight Chronicles.

Matt: ”Nowadays, Brad is our lead guitarist, for sure. In the studio, Sam plays the lead on his songs, and Brad plays the lead on all of Cal’s songs. That’s the division. A lot of the shapes that Sam chose to play for album one, because they suit his fingers, don’t suit the way Brad plays, so he’s had to move things around a lot. And some things are really awkward for him, whereas they were okay for Sam. And some things that were awkward for Sam are really fine for Brad. One of the things he’s talked about specifically was the solo for “Saint Beyond the River,” which was the song that I wrote. I’m not a guitarist, and the solo that I got Sam to play was, note for note, what I wrote. And when Sam did it, he said “You’ve not written a possible part, this is the closest I can get.” And that’s because the shapes just weren’t what Sam is used to, it’s not how Sam plays. But weirdly enough, it is exactly how Brad plays. That was one of the solos that he took like a duck to water. So stylistically they’re very different, and Brad has had to adapt to a lot of those shapes on the guitar.”

To follow up, I ask whether Brad’s taking of the lead guitarist role had any impact on the writing of the new record, as it sounds like that might be the case.

Callum: “Actually, it hasn’t. We knew long ago that Sam wasn’t playing with us live, before we’d begun writing album two. I wrote the solos for my songs for most of album one, and that’s kind of applied to album two. I haven’t really changed anything.”

Matt: “There are little bits and ideas that Brad has contributed.”

Callum: “Yeah, he has. There’s a few little bits he’s added, but the majority, 90%, is the same sort of thing I was doing before. I just gotta write what sounds good to me.”

I had also intended to ask the band’s new bassist, Ed Munson, about the role he played in shaping The Skies Above Eternity. From my perspective, Ed’s energetic stage presence bolsters the Fellowship ethos of joy and camaraderie, so I go ahead with asking Matt and Callum about the ways in which he had impacted the band’s compositional and studio practices.

Matt: “I don’t think we can actually answer this question.”

EE: “Okay.”

Callum: “I can say something. It’s a similar thing to Brad’s solos; he’d get the songs, and he has added his own parts. There are things that I, not being a bass player, would not know. So he would add slides and these little intricacies across the songs, which I wouldn’t even think to do.”

Matt: “They give the songs life, y’know. More life.”

Callum: “Yeah, for sure. I think he has, especially with the songs I’ve written, one hundred percent improved them with small, little bits. Any small improvement is a good thing.”

Matt: “There’s also just the fact that Ed is a joyous human to be around. He’s such a friendly guy. Most of the time, it’s just sort of me and Cal in the studio, we do a lot of that stuff together, as a symbiotic pair. But he’s just so happy and fun that it makes being in a band easy a lot of the time. I think that does probably have some effect on the music. Where I can’t tell you.”

At this point, I ask Matt and Cal if they can speak for a moment on their experience working with the late Phillipe Giordana of the French power metal band Fairyland, a band I’ve been listening to for as long as I’ve been a fan of the genre. Giordana passed away in 2022, after having contributed keyboards to “The Frozen Land,” the Japanese bonus track from The Saberlight Chronicles.

Callum: “He… yeah, he was such a friendly guy. We were a new band in the scene, and he stumbled upon us from ‘Glint’, from our EP. And he would just be messaging us all the time, even at 2 AM, just to have a conversation about anything.”

Matt: “He was the first person who was in power metal proper to really believe in us, other than Lynd1, who you sort of knew beforehand.”

Callum: “Yeah.”

Matt: “And that enthusiasm is so infectious. And he was so kind and lovely, and one of the first things he ever said to us was ‘If you ever need a keyboard player, I would be beyond honored to do something.’ We’d written the entire album at this point, and then we realized we needed a Japanese bonus track. We didn’t know this beforehand. We wrote the Japanese bonus track, and we said ‘we gotta have Phil on it.’

Callum: “He just wanted to collaborate so badly, and we said “this is the perfect song,” with the dueling solos between him and Sam.

Matt: “We gave him the song, and he got so excited. I get really emotional talking about that, because… Yeah, he was just, I’ve never seen… We didn’t speak to him in person or anything, but he was so excited, like a child in a candy shop kind of excitement. And he blew it out of the park, and he kept talking about it afterwards, the year on.”

Matt and Cal’s memories of Phil are genuinely touching, but I steer our chat back to lighter topics, as the last thing I want is to cast a rain cloud over the day of two musicians who I massively respect. I ask them whether there are any guest collaborators on the new record.

Matt: “No, I don’t think so.”

Callum: “No, there actually isn’t.”

EE: “Okay.”

Callum: “It wasn’t a thing where we said ‘we don’t want any guests.’ I guess we…”

Matt: “I think this album kind of – stop me if I’m going off-patch – but for me I felt like this album needed to be a statement from us, in a way, where album one did really well and came out of nowhere. I think we very much wanted to prove something with album two.”

EE: “That it’s not a fluke?”

Matt: “It’s not a fluke, absolutely. And I think that just made us dive into ourselves, as it were.”

Callum: “You mean, don’t rely on someone else to prop ourselves up.”

Matt: “Yeah, exactly.”

On that note, I ask Matt and Cal whether they had a wishlist of musicians they would like to collaborate with, encouraging them to dream big.

Callum: “I would love for Lynd to do a solo on a song, from… well, ex-Twilight Force. Syu from Galneryus would be awesome. We were in contact with Herman Li2 for a little bit, a few years back. We haven’t heard from him in a while, but that would be awesome.”

EE: “He left a comment on your original music video, I remember that.”

Matt: “Yeah! He watched it on stream, we were honored. It was so cool.”

Callum: “I’ve said three, Matt.”

Matt: “Yeah, I think from my perspective, there’s a load of vocalists who I would love to work with, who would add something – maybe like a character or something on a future album, who I think would just mesh really well with my voice. I would probably go a little bit outside of power metal to find some of those voices. So, I’m not sure it’s ever happening, but someone like Maisie Peters, who’s a… real shot in the dark, off the wall. I just really like her voice. Moron Police are my favorite band of all time, so I’d love to work with their vocalist, who’s also an incredible guitar player, by the way. And then within power metal, I’m super good friends with Sozos Michael, so I think that’s the one. If anything’s going to happen, it would be with him. I’m doing stuff with him on Eons Enthroned, and I would just love to have him on a record sometime.”

EE: “Gotcha. Is there…”

Matt: “And Cal has no idea who the first two people are.”

Callum: “No, not a clue!”

Continuing the topic of dream collaborations, I ask Matt and Cal whether there are any artists who they would love to tour with someday.

Matt: “It’s really typical to say DragonForce… It’s not because they’re huge, but because we’ve spoken to Herman. He seems super chill, and he’s been really supportive of us, and it would just be nice to actually support him – like, literally support him in return, and do what we can. That would be really cool.”

Callum: “A band that’s recently started touring the world – which is awesome, I love it, because it doesn’t usually happen with Japanese bands – Lovebites. That would be awesome to do, because I’m quite a big fan of them. They’re a bit more on the thrash-y side with some of their stuff, but you don’t really see Japanese bands coming out to tour the world. But they’re doing well, and that would be great.”

Matt: “That would be such a fun concert, I think.”

To get a bit more granular with a subject they had briefly touched on already, I ask Matt and Cal how they balanced challenging themselves creatively with The Skies Above Eternity, while still delivering more of what people love about Fellowship’s first album.

Callum: “I always challenge myself by, for example, when I was talking about the Japanese style of music – not necessarily even power metal, as I said, with bands like YOASOBI – trying to incorporate that sort of sound into power metal, where it hasn’t necessarily been done. Some Japanese power metal bands, like Galneryus, obviously, already do that. But outside of Japan, you don’t really hear that sort of thing. Once again, with ‘Hold Up Your Hearts (Again),’ there’s a lot of harmonic aspects in that which were a bit experimental, but I think it’s worked out.”

Matt: “The pre-chorus harmonies that you wrote, they’re really cool and different.”

Callum: “I mean, the whole thing, there’s a lot of experimental stuff in there.”

Matt: “I just have a really long list of cool words I want to use on my phone.”

The three of us burst into laughter at this – Matt being the first to laugh, in self-deprecating fashion.

Matt: “I think I’ve said this a bunch of times in different interviews, but for me, the thing that is most important when I approach a song, is marrying the narrative and lyrical content to the music. It’s very much about how the music is the core of everything, and everything I do is a reaction to that, so that it meshes, it flows, it works together. And this means that the first thing I do, before I’ve started any words for a song, is think about how that song thematically evolves, just purely musically. And I think that sort of keeps things fresh. Because as long as the music is evolving, then I will evolve with that music. And I think Cal, in that sense, pushes me a lot…”

Callum: “Yeah.”

Matt: “… to come up with new things and interesting ideas.”

Callum: “I’m always coming across new artists that I like, and as I said, it’s just trying to take some ideas from what they might use, which you don’t typically hear in power metal, and trying to fit it into power metal.”

EE: “Yeah, inspiration can come from anywhere. I mean, what is power metal if not just metal with more pop in it?”

Matt and Callum: “Yeah!”

EE: “I almost didn’t ask this question… but I’m going to, just for fun.”

Callum: “Go.”

During the previous night’s show, while Fellowship were three songs deep into their set, Matt made an unfortunate flub when he addressed the crowd as “Michigan,” rather than “Madison.” He immediately caught and corrected his error, and proffered an apology to the audience after the song had ended, claiming that he had failed out of geography in school. I decided to offer Matt an opportunity to redeem himself while having a little fun in the process.

EE: “Matt, did you really fail out of geography?”

Matt: “Uh, I… I didn’t actually get an F, but I got such low grades consistently that my teacher disliked me, to the point where she actually said in a class that she would not accept me taking geography at a GCSE3 level. That is not something that teachers are supposed to or allowed to do! I really annoyed my geography teacher, because I just… it was not my bag. Was not my bag. So no, I did, genuinely. I grew up thinking that Dover was North of where I live, and Dover is literally the lowest part of England, so…”

Callum: “Is this why you’ve learned so much about American states now? We were coming here, so you just learned…”

Matt: “Yeah, yeah, it is. I don’t know which one I’m in, but I know enough about them.”

Callum: “Okay, Mister Michigan.”

Matt lets out an exaggerated wail of social anguish at Cal’s jab.

EE: “I was talking with Angry Metal Guy after your set – who I think you met yesterday – and he said ‘I feel so bad for Matt, because Matt’s probably going to be thinking about that once a week forever.’”

Matt: “Yeah, yeah. There is literally a Simpsons joke about somebody doing that, and… grr. I can’t get over that one.”

EE: “From the perspective of an audience member, and all the people who were around me, everyone just thought it was super funny and a very honest mistake, and no one thought anything of it.”

Matt: “I’m really, I’m really… really glad. If I made that mistake in England, I would probably be booed off stage.”

With a band-aid slapped on Matt’s wounded pride, I proceed to wrap up our chat in an unpredictable, innovative fashion: By asking about Fellowship’s plans for the foreseeable future.

Matt: “So, we have a couple shows booked later this year. We’re doing another sort of mini-tour in the U.K., and we’re headlining this time, which should be super fun. We’re playing Edinborough… and two other places which I could look up, but are not in my brain right now. I want to say Manchester and London.”

Callum: “Yeah, that’s correct.”

Matt: “Yeah, it is Manchester and London.”

Callum: “We’ve got two German festivals.”

Matt: “Just after Christmas?”

Callum: “Yeah.”

Matt: “And then we’re playing Epic Fest next year, which we have been re-booked for. Which is such a cool thing for us, because we played there this year, and we were on such a small stage that a lot of people were disappointed they couldn’t see us. So they’ve booked us again for next year on a bigger one! Which is really, really cool, and just validating for us, I think.”

Callum: “We also have… I’ve started, I’ve got ideas already for album three.”

Matt: “Oh, don’t promise that so soon, Cal!”

Callum: “There’s ideas in the bank, there’s some ideas already. They’re not finished, but the base stuff is there.”

Matt: “We’re gonna start getting the “When’s album three” cries before we’ve even dropped album two!”

With that, I thanked Matt and Callum for their time before being given the friendliest handshakes I’ve ever received. If you’d like to hear an utterly wholesome and genuine power metal record that combines elements of Galneryus, YOASOBI, and ABBA, you can catch The Skies Above Eternity, releasing on Scarlet Records on Friday, November 22nd. Fellowship’s third album will follow shortly thereafter. Cal promised.

#2024 #ABBA #AvengedSevenfold #BlogPost #DragonForce #EltonJohn #EonsEnthroned #Fairyland #Fellowship #interview #LordsOfTheTrident #Lovebites #MaisiePeters #MoronPolice #ScarletRecords #TwilightForce #YOASOBI

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LORDS OF THE TRIDENT – New Single “Jet Set City” Streaming

https://bravewords.com/news/lords-of-the-trident-new-single-jet-set-city-streaming

#LordsOfTheTrident

Lords of the Trident unleash new single and video for “Jet Set City”

Lords of the Trident, fresh off their acclaimed rendition of Steve Winwood's Valerie, now unveil "Jet Set City", the fourth single from their upcoming EP V.G.E.P. (Video Game EP). This latest release, accompanied by a captivating music video, pays homage to one of the band's

https://www.moshville.co.uk/video/2024/09/lords-of-the-trident-unleash-new-single-and-video-for-jet-set-city/

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LORDS OF THE TRIDENT Release Cover Of STEVE WINWOOD Classic "Valerie"; Music Video

https://bravewords.com/news/lords-of-the-trident-release-cover-of-steve-winwood-classic-valerie-music-video

#LordsOfTheTrident #SteveWinwood #Valerie

Lords of The Trident share “To Kill a God” video; new EP arriving in October:

#LordsOfTheTrident #ToKillAGod #NewVideo #NewEP #OctoberReleases

https://metalinsider.net/video/lords-of-the-trident-share-to-kill-a-god-video-new-ep-arriving-in-october

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LORDS OF THE TRIDENT Reveal How NIGHTWISH Orders A Coffee (Video)

https://bravewords.com/news/lords-of-the-trident-reveal-how-nightwish-orders-a-coffee-video

#LordsOfTheTrident #Nightwish #Coffee #Covid19 #RockMusic #VirtualPerformances #MusicVideos #ConcertRecording #Snacks #StudioRecording #HeavyMetal #NeverBrewedBefore