Album Review: Earthbound – Chronos (Self Released)

Earthbound, the lauded UK melodic metal band, mark a significant evolution in their sound with the much-anticipated release of their debut full-length album, ‘Chronos’. Out on November 26th, 2024.

The year was 2018, Bloodstock was right around the corner, and we were getting to know some of the bands who would be playing on the likes of the New Blood stage that year. One such band was Earthbound, who had previously released their debut EP, ‘Endure’ at the tail end of 2017. This EP, their live show at Bloodstock, and the sense that they had everything needed to be a much bigger band, turned us into fans, and through all their trials and tribulations, that affection has endured.

Which brings us to the tail end of 2024. Seven years on from the release of that debut EP, they finally release their debut album, and it’s a bloody banger. However, you already know this. You’ve heard the singles; you’ve heard the exciting evolution in their sound, an evolution that embraces power metal aspects and fuses them with traditional metalcore heaviness and intense melodeath grandeur.

This is a more creative Earthbound and they proudly display all they have learned with a bombastic introduction called I, before perfectly transitioning into the infectious beast that is Change. There may no better example of how Earthbound have grown then this track and it comes nice and early, delivering a big and bullish showcase of melody and metal, daring to be epic, and setting the bar extremely high. Then, just when you think you’ve heard it all, along comes a saxophone solo.

Yes, Earthbound are experimenting and there are many more progressive ideas to come. Such as on A Conversation with God, where killer guitars, bone-crushing drums, and vocals that go from scathingly intense to boomingly grand, are showcased with cinematic melodeath aplomb. It’s fair to say that alongside the complex layers of The Architect and melody-laced drama of Visions, the first half of this album is super satisfying.

Not content with having already delivered on all expectations, the group find a way to go even bigger in the second half too. First with the imposing Cloudburst, one of two tracks that pass the seven-minute mark, and then with the impressive Flight. Both continue to showcase even more exciting aspects of Earthbound’s progressive depth and how expressive they are now. Both tracks also deliver an array of thumping heaviness and explicit melody, however, the former sees Earthbound delivering a mid-point tone shift that is so cinematic, while the latter’s chorus is so damn catchy.

Wowed enough yet? Earthbound aren’t even close to being done here and while Aperture and Transmission (there’s some serious Bodom vibes in this latter track) are two shorter examples of the blistering combination of ideas, there is absolutely nothing to complain about here either. Earthbound won’t just make you feel on this album, they’ll make you f**king head bang too.

Finally, it’s the other seven-minute wonder, Chasing the Wind, and a finale befitting of an album this creative. Right up to the very end, Earthbound find inventive ways to thrill and ensure every sane person walks away loving this album. All through the sheer power of epic freaking metal that unashamedly wears its influences for all to see but embraces the beloved aspects of that and evolves on expectations.

It felt like Earthbound had arrived before, but it turns out that all of that was just a rehearsal for this. Now, let’s see them go on and take over the world.

Earthbound – Chronos Track Listing:

1. I
2. Change
3. A Conversation with God
4. The Architect
5. Visions
6. Cloudburst
7. Flight
8. Aperture
9. Transmission
10. Chasing The Wind

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