As you step on the plains of battle you notice an as yet unseen band of barbarians marching towards you in formation. As they approach cloaked in black robes your passive perception is high enough to note that they already arrive with victory in toe, bound in chains as if a maiden personified. You realise that the five that approach will be your end. Do you turn and run, or do you accept your fate and stand to face the force that is Visigoth? Roll Initiative!!!
Like a ninth level fire ball with a failing dexterity saving throw, Visigoth’s 2015 release entitled ‘The Revenant King’ is an album that packs a serious punch. Powerful enough to cause catastrophic damage to the party if not result in a Total Party Kill, it’s advised that you don’t travel into this album alone without some serious protection spell. Instead, we suggest you gather as many party members around you as possible to aid in the listening of ‘The Revenant King’.
Holding true to the tenets of traditional heavy metal, or trad-metal as the kids now call it, with ‘The Revenant King’ Visigoth raise their standard for the old ways with an album full to the metal studded brim with long melodious odes to sword play, the glory of battle and honour. With a singular focus on writing music inspired by their favourite records from The New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the early days of American Power metal, ‘The Revenant King’ awakens a deep hunger for iron-forged pure metal magic long since buried by the ever-evolving fashions of metal.
Riding out of the gates at full force, ‘The Revenant King’s’ title track invites you to don your battle jacket once more at it wastes no time in leaping from your speakers to lay waste to your collection of limited-edition vinyl pressings of last year’s metal releases. With big muscular riffs reminiscent of a Grand Magus or Manilla Road release and guitar solos so hot to the ear that there is a genuine chance that they will melt your face, Visigoth crank their amps to 11 with a sound that works hard to stand apart from the squeaky-clean production of modern metal to retain some uncultivated power in their tone.
Galloping into the next eight tracks with solid foot stomping riff work, as good as the music is, the real standout feature of the album is the vocal performance of Jake Rogers. Selling tales of dungeons and vengeance with his powerful mid-range, Jake’s soaring vocals match the pace of the guitars perfectly making for some of the most contagious delivery in metal. Even at slower tempos the band still manage to slay. Sliding effortlessly into movements of epic doom, these sections make for a good change of pace without the removal of the iron-clad determination that characterises the album.
With a run time of 60 minutes plus and songs that have a runtime of up to nine and a half minutes, ‘The Revenant king’ is an ambitious record that rarely misses the mark. Full of powerful melodies and ballsy riffs, this album proves that traditional metal is here to stay and continues to live on in the hearts of the true.
A Review by Matthew Young