.jpg)
Midlands melodic metallers The Black Hounds return with the release of their sophomore album titled, 'All Kingdoms Fall', which explores the concept that everything, whether good or bad, comes to an end. The band have hit the decade milestone and, since their inception, has had several line-up changes, but the new release and follow-up to their debut 'Colossus' is a testament to the band expanding their sound and finding their groove.
The opening track, 'Foundations, ' is a melodic, powerful track with soaring guitars and varied, clean and fierce vocals, which leaves you eager to hear more.
The crushing 'Tyrant', although bleak lyrically as it is about confronting abuse and heavier in stature, remains vibrant and tuneful and stomps throughout with some great headbanging moments.
The melancholic instrumental 'Unrest' is dynamic and progresses intensely as it unfolds, leading us abruptly into the third swift and charging single 'Breaking The Cycle'.
The epic 'The Final Step' is 8 minutes long and is also one of the most diverse tracks with bouncy heavy riffs/melodies driving it and takes you through the motions, conveying the story of someone who has suffered through illness and taking their final steps to their demise, processing pain, fear, acceptance and finally peace.
'Grace' was written as a cathartic experience to process a traumatic event, and the result is a striking and robust journey, while the enthralling 'The Rot' is dark and all-consuming.
The penultimate track, 'The End,' changes pace with a softer and slower offering, which is a welcome addition and adds more depth and variety. It is executed wonderfully, showing more vulnerability.
The album ends with the title track 'All Kingdoms Fall,' which flows from the previous track before it bites hard with crunchy riffs and the return of brutal vocals and instrumentation. The song is about acceptance and marks an appropriate end musically and conceptually, exploring how all these must end and coming to terms with this. The closer is a strong, triumphant, and thought-provoking way to end and soars from start to finish.
'All Kingdoms Fall' is an immense, melodic, robust offering and highly satisfying listen. Joe Cleaver, the band's drummer and the only remaining founding member, stated: "The album is about facing life's hardships. It's tackling the realities of traumatic experiences but also being able to build yourself back up afterwards, overcoming adversity and acceptance." And like the album theme, this also applies to their new album, as they overcame their challenges and emerged stronger and reinvigorated.
https://www.instagram.com/black_hounds_band/
Comments
Post a Comment