Are you ready for some pure heavy metal? We review relative newcomers Unleash The Archers’ new opus, ‘Time Stands Still’…
[tracklist]
01. Northern Passage (Intro)
02. Frozen Steel
03. Hail Of The Tide
04. Tonight We Ride
05. Test Your Metal
06. Crypt
07. No More Heroes
08. Dreamcrusher
09. Going Down Fighting
10. Time Stands Still
[/tracklist]
[details]
[length]55:43[/length]
[record_label]Napalm Records[/record_label]
[release_date]26th June 2015[/release_date]
[/details]
Unleash The Archers have actually been around for a little while. tarting in 2007 and producing a couple of independent albums, the Canadian quintet have started to gain worldwide traction with the release of the single ‘Tonight We Ride‘ earlier this year, it’s stunning video, and the new deal signed with Napalm Records. Looking into their back catalogue the band have produced some decent material, with a exponential passion to make their heavy metal brand their own. With the build up to ‘Time Stands Still‘, the Archers have gone all out for this one!
A dramatic intro graces the opening of the album, an epic prelude to the album that definitely exposes the European power metal influences of the band, and then opens ‘Frozen Passage‘. The guitars ring in, and the dual harmonies build up to an explosion of that pure heavy metal that will make your neck and hands loose.
The double bass drums kick into full fury with some astounding synchronised guitar work, but perhaps the most impressive feat of Unleash The Archers being the vocal work of Brittney Slayes, having such a huge impact on the brand and style of the band. When the album moves into ‘Hail of the Tide‘ the vocal work is stunning, with Slayes creating her own heavy metal esque vocals with the balls of Bruce Dickinson, and the death-growls of guitarists Grant Truesdell and Andrew Kingsley underlaying the harmonised lyrics throughout.
We often forget in heavy metal what can be done with just vocals, guitars, bass, and drums in an age where there are more subgenres of metal than the population of the Earth. ‘Time Stand Still‘ is pure heavy metal at its finest. The Archers have stuck to the pure roots while managing to diversify the palette throughout the album – tracks like ‘Crypt‘ show influence from Black Dahlia-esque death metal, and the seemingly Blind Guardian-inspired ‘Time Stands Still‘ are representations of how Unleash The Archers are owning their brand of heavy metal, and epic tracks like ‘Dreamcrusher‘ reititerate that point.
It’s one of those albums you could listen to again and again, and something you could see transitioning very well into a live show. With those two junctures, we are expecting massive things for Unleash The Archers. The amount of passion in this album is ever present, and not too many heavy metal bands have it, both old and new. If you are a heavy metal fan, and had never heard of this band before, we are sure that ‘Time Stands Still‘ will win you over.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]There is a lot of passion and effort put in to this album it makes it extraordinary. Only skill and strong songwriting are present throughout the album creating an excellent heavy metal album, and one that can be listened to repeatedly.[/why]
