VALLENFYRE

Hands up who laments that, despite efforts to regain their past sound, Paradise Lost haven't released a decent doom-death album since ‘Shades of God’? Probably not many. But, imagine if Paradise Lost followed up 'Gothic' not with a progressive doom masterpiece, but a stylistic regression to 'Lost Paradise'? What then if they recorded it in Stockholm and asked Tomas Skogsberg to produce? It might well have sounded something like 'A Fragile King' the debut album from Gregor Macintosh of Paradise Lost, on vocals no less (more on that later), and members of My Dying Bride and At The Gates amongst others. Of course, the major give away that a mastering error hasn't in fact given you a death metal CD from 1991 is due to the very modern-sounding production (as dirty as it is). The guitars buzz with that familiar Scandinavian dual-distortion fury, whilst the drums project the tempo shifts with aplomb. The focus of attention naturally will be on Gregor here though, as it is he who conceived of this project, following the death of his father (the eponymous Fragile King). And, despite his lack of range as a growler, it is amazing that he has kept this bile-filled voice of his hidden for all these years. His voice is both depressive and powerful, and could quite easily have been ruined by some variation; this is, after all, brutal doom-death. Although billed predominantly as vocalist, his mark as a guitarist is painted all over this album in the harmonies and leads. That's not to say the rest of the band don't shine of course; although I suspect that Adrian Erlandsson had to be reminded where he was during some of the slower sections. The musicians involved are firing on all cylinders, and by the sounds of things the studio sessions must have been positively electric, but I suspect it is both Gregor and Hamish that feel most at home with the material. It has already been announced that Vallenfyre will be a touring band, and it is highly recommended that you check them out. A follow-up album is less certain but, if this is to be the only album from this super group of sorts, we should cherish this as one of those rare instances that a group of musicians, and one in particular, can recapture the sounds of an era long-gone and make it sound vital and inspired. Truly awesome.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Century Media

Album

A FRAGILE KING

Review by Steve Cowan

RUNNING TIME:

41:55

RELEASE DATE:

31st Oct 2011

TRACK LISTING

1) All Will Suffer
2) Desecration
3) Ravenous Whore
4) Cathedrals of Dread
5) As the World Collapses
6) A Thousand Martyrs
7) Seeds
8) Humanity Wept
9) My Black Siberia
10) The Divine Have Fled
11) The Grim Irony

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"...we should cherish this as one of those rare instances that a group of musicians, and one in particular, can recapture the sounds of an era long-gone and make it sound vital and inspired. Truly awesome."