Album Review: Blazon Rite – Wild Rites and Ancient Songs (Gates of Hell Records)

The dust has barely settled on Blazon Rite’s debut album ‘Endless Halls of Golden Totem’ but the heavy metal group are back with ‘Wild Rites and Ancient Songs’. The new album will be released on the 14th of April 2023 via Gates of Hell Records.

Raise your fist to the air, Blazon Rite are back and back with a head-banging, old-school screamer of a metal record in the form of Wild Rites and Ancient Songs. Having made a hefty splash with the debut record, the group double down on the sense of epic with this follow up. A seven-track ode to heavy metal but with enough creative touches to make it more than just a nostalgic rethread.

Being totally unsparing when it comes to riffs, Autumn Fear Brings Winter Doom is the perfect neck-muscles warm up. Blazon Rite exploring all elements of their sound and delivering an emphatic statement of head-banging energy. Something they refuse to hold back on with the animated groove and anthemic Salvage What You Can of the Night. An early high point of the record.

The Fall of a Once Great House begins with captivating melody that grows into a more folksy sound, before Blazon Rite put their foot down and go hell for leather. The uptick in energy is delightful and exciting, but the vocal delivery makes this one hell of an epic.

There’s no complaining about even more lovable reasons to head-bang when Blazon Rite keep hitting highs with the likes of Mark of the Stormborn Riders and the title track. The former gets the blood pumping nicely, whereas the latter has relaxing ambience and robust groove. A pairing that both showcase the talents of the band but also their growth. They are clearly improving as artists and this album demonstrates that.

No further proof needed than the heart-racing tempo of Troubadours of the Final Quarrel and the theatrical The Coming Tide of Yule. Varity by the bucketload, guitar work that is on another level, epic vocals that you just want to sing along to, and just enough experimentation to keep things interesting.

After releasing such an emphatic debut, Blazon Rite didn’t need to hit so hard and so soon, but they’ve done it regardless. Delivering an album that is just as strong, if not stronger, than their debut.

Blazon Rite – Wild Rites and Ancient Songs Track Listing:

1. Autumn Fear Brings Winter Doom
2. Salvage What You Can of the Night
3. The Fall of a Once Great House
4. Mark of the Stormborn Riders
5. Wild Rites and Ancient Songs
6. Troubadours of the Final Quarrel
7. The Coming Tide of Yule

Links

Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Gates of Hell Records