I have discussed the apparent dearth of British power and symphonic metal bands on this blog before, usually when I get a rare opportunity to big up a melodic metal act from these shores. Pythia, Dakesis, and Winter in Eden are three names that I can immediately think of when it comes to British power and symphonic metal; but one name that might not be quite so 'well known', even within the scene, is Damnation Angels. The four-piece act hail from Doncaster, and have been around in one shape or form since 2006. It may be their fairly low-key operation that has kept them from growing in the modest UK melodic metal scene, but they are a band that more people should certainly be aware of. I am not 100% sure when my head was turned to them but it was sometime between the release of 2012's Bringer of Light and 2015's The Valiant Fire - the band's debut and second albums respectively. I picked up Bringer of Light on a bit of a whim and I enjoyed it, but it was with The Valiant Fire where the band really came into their own. Bringer of Light is a very solid symphonic power metal album, but The Valiant Fire pretty much improved on it in every way. For a band with a very low-key profile, The Valiant Fire sounds absolutely fantastic. Bands with a much larger base of resources to draw from such as Kamelot and Blind Guardian would be ecstatic to produce an album with the sonic qualities of The Valiant Fire, and the songwriting backs it up. Some of the songs are very catchy with big hooks, while others are progressive and drenched in orchestral goodness. It is an album that anyone would be proud of creating, but sadly the band never really got the opportunity to capitalise on it. Not long before the album's release, frontman Per Fredrik Åsly (aka PelleK) left the band. As Damnation Angels had essentially recorded The Valiant Fire as a three-piece, with founding member William Graney handling everything bar the lead vocals and the drums, PelleK's departure left Damnation Angels as barely a band at all. The album received great reviews, but sadly no shows were able to be booked to support it until the following year, when the band joined Threshold on a European trek. Joining the Graney brothers (John handles the drums) on tour was bassist Nic Southwood and frontman Ignacio Rodríguez - and it is this four-piece that has made up Damnation Angels ever since. The band were great live, but the proof would be in the pudding of their next album - which has finally arrived in the form of Fiber of Our Being. Despite the five year gap between The Valiant Fire and Fiber of Our Being (why the band has used the American spelling of fibre I do not know), Damnation Angels have not missed a step at all. William Graney, who has always been the band's main songwriter as well as the co-producer and orchestral arranger of their albums, has written a bunch of songs here to rival The Valiant Fire. Fiber of Our Being soars in the way that the previous album did five years ago, and the band's new line-up has really pulled out all of the stops here. Despite William Graney still manning the helm, Fiber of Our Being is a much more band-orientated effort than the previous albums. Rodríguez, a competent musician in his own right, is credited with performing additional guitars and piano throughout the album, while a full-time bassist in the form of Southwood is present this time. Producer Scott Atkins, who has been involved in all of the band's previous albums, returns for this third effort to help the band realise their soaring and epic sound.
Something that becomes clear from repeated listens to the album is how important structure is to its success. While many great albums are simply so as they are a collection of great songs, some are great as they create a real journey for the listener. Fiber of Our Being is one of those albums, and the way the songs are presented really reinforces this. The first part of the album showcases the punchier, catchier songs that draw the listener in with accessible melodies and powerful choruses; but as the album reaches its conclusion the songs are much deeper, longer, and layered. This approach really works in the album's favour, with the songs constantly building on what has come before. More Than Human kicks the album off, and it is the first of three top-class power metal tracks in a row - each with a soaring chorus that really shows off Rodríguez's strong voice. It is also a song that sets the tone and energy from the start - there is no lengthy orchestral intro here, just a quick synth build up to the first of many big William Graney riffs. Despite being a symphonic metal band, Damnation Angels never let the orchestrations get in the way of the riffing. The guitars are always very prominent in the mix, their crunch forming the album's weight; and this style is perfectly on display during the opening song. While the verses are a little more low-key, with clean guitar melodies and rumbling bass, the choruses really kick things into overdrive with walls of guitar rhythms, soaring orchestrations, and Rodríguez's hooky vocal melodies. It is a chorus that is instantly-memorable, and is certain to draw the listener in. A lengthy guitar solo adds some progressive flair, which leads perfectly into a key-changed chorus - which is full of theatrical flavours to round out the album's opening in grand fashion. Railrunner is much more dramatic overall, as it opens with a portion of the song's stomping chorus before everything drops out to leave Rodríguez alone with dark strings for a very Kamelot-esque verse. Despite still being a very hooky song, it is a track that foreshadows some of the more progressive moments to come. The pace changes a lot throughout the track, with John Graney switching between punchy mid-paced beats and fast double-bass patterns - which helps to keep the listener guessing. In my opinion, it is on songs like this where Damnation Angels really excel. They certainly have the songwriting talents to match bands like Kamelot, who essentially pioneered this sort of metal; while still being able to have the skill to wrap up the style in an accessible and memorable way. Not every power metal act has mastered that balance, and Damnation Angels show in Railrunner that they certainly have. The album's title track is similar, but a bit more bombastic and overtly-power metal in style. The chorus showcases some of Rodríguez's best vocals on the album, with some impressive high notes included within the anthemic melodies. It was the first song that was released from the album online a few months ago, and it instantly grabbed me. I knew that the rest of the album was going to be great as soon as I heard this song, as it is another track that showcases all of the band's hallmarks in one - from the dramatic strings to William Graney's shredded guitar solo.
With these first three songs, Fiber of Our Being has already cemented itself as a strong symphonic power metal album. From this point on however, the album opens up further - with deeper, more progressive arrangements on display. Our Last Light showcases this from the off, with a gradual build up from a sombre piano-based intro setting the tone early. This is one of the album's ballads, and it allows Rodríguez to showcase a different, more gentle, side to his voice. As he sits at the piano crooning the lyrics, the orchestrations swirl around him and the band occasionally join him with a percussive backing that never overshadows the song's core piano foundation. Unsurprisingly, the song is quite an emotional moment. Rodríguez's vocals carry a lot of feeling in them, and the stripped back nature really allows him to shine. A melodic guitar solo part way through really adds to this emotional pull too; as does the slightly cinematic ending that picks up the pace a little and adds some wordless chanting to bring the ballad to a close. Rewrite the Future is more akin to the album's opening numbers, but the symphonic trappings are much more overt this time around, with layers of harmony vocals present during the staccato chorus vocal lines that open up the song and dramatic strings cutting through the mix throughout. Damnation Angels have not abandoned their love of a strong hook here, but the song as a whole feels a little deeper and more layered than the album's opening trio. This, however, only goes to show what a great songwriter and arranger William Graney is. The hooks fit seamlessly within the bombast, and Rodríguez is the man to bring these hooks to life. The chorus here is one of the album's best, which is an achievement considering how many great ones there are here, and the energy that the song creates is palpable. Sometimes I find that grooves and energy get a little buried in symphonic metal as the layers and layers of strings take centre stage; but John Graney's punchy drum performance stops this from happening and the song really sits on a powerful groove throughout which only helps the melodies to hit harder. Fractured Amygdala (the Amygdala being the part of the brain that deals with emotions) is, despite the flashes present in the preceding five songs, the album's first song that really pushes the band's progressive side to the fore. There is a lot going on here, with changes in pace and vibe occurring quite frequently throughout. Rodríguez's piano is featured again in a prominent way here, with a subtle pre-chorus section seeing the band drop out a little - only for them to power back in moments later with a hypnotic guitar arpeggio forming the basis of a slow-paced, but grand, chorus. Some of the album's heaviest moments are also found here, with John Graney laying into his double bass drums at times to back some gothic strings and tough riffing. It is a powerful song that features a bit of everything that the band have become known for, so as a result it is one of my favourite cuts here.
The final three songs continue on from the progressive previous number, with Greed and Extinction building from a slow, piano-filled start to a flat-out heavy power metal workout that features some of the fastest riffing and beats here. Despite the overtly-metallic feeling the song goes for, the progressive nature of the arrangement keeps things smooth and in-keeping with album's overall sound. Despite their guitar-centric sound Damnation Angels are still not the heaviest of power metal bands, but there are moments here that certainly recall some of Blind Guardian's more bombastic songs. The riffing here is placed right at the front of the mix, but orchestrations constantly provide soaring counter melodies - and of course Rodríguez is always there to lay down a big vocal hook. Songs such as this take a few listens to fully digest, but the arrangements eventually all make sense and the soaring vocal melodies really help to tie everything together. While the opening few songs here might be more catchy and memorable, it is songs like this that ultimately showcase the band's songwriting and arrangements in the best light. Perhaps the one to do so most overtly however is Remnants of a Dying Star, a near-thirteen minute epic that is the longest song that the band have written so far. The band have put out great epics in the past, and Remnants of a Dying Star is another very strong addition to this part of their canon. Despite the song's length, the band mostly stick to the formulas that have served them so well throughout the rest of the album - but they do not suffer in any way from being stretched out over a longer frame. The pace throughout is often very deliberate, with a mid-paced crunch being favoured, but the orchestrations and choirs certainly sound bigger here than on any of the album's other songs. This is truly a symphonic metal track, with the power metal trappings largely stripped back here to allow the orchestrations and choirs to really shine. It is easily the biggest-sounding song on the album, and there are moments that really allow the orchestral arrangements to shine - such as a piano-based part that essentially sees the whole band drop out to allow the strings and ringing piano to form a dark, gothic soundscape that gradually builds towards a muscular guitar riff. The song's length allows more focus to be placed on the instrumental side of the band than many of the others here; and some of the crunching riffs backed by the dancing strings are actually some of the highlights of the piece. It is great seeing the band stretch out a little here, with the soaring choruses still present to return to a more melodic focus when necessary. After the lengthy Remnants of a Dying Star, the album comes to something of a calming close with A Sum of Our Parts - another ballad-esque track with gorgeous vocals from Rodríguez and plenty of rolling piano. Lauren Francis adds some extra vocals to the song, her hypnotic wordless vocals mixing perfectly with the piano to become part of the overall soundscape in a very organic and original way. In some ways, the song is quite different to many of the band's others. The wordless vocals create a darkly playful vibe, but the gothic melodrama that is the band are known for is still present to allow the song to still fit nicely within the context of the album. While it might have been better to end the album with the bombast of the previous song, I can see why the band opted to place A Sum of Our Parts at the end. It still features the progressive arrangements of the album's second portion, and the slower pace allows for a gentle fade-out - which actually works well. Overall, Fiber of Our Being is another excellent album from Damnation Angels which is certainly up there in quality when compared to their previous work. In terms of pure melody however, this album certainly wins. Each song here has a big hook or chorus to really draw the listener in, and the mix of soaring power metal with more progressive touches seems to be have perfected further here as a whole. This is an album that deserves to be heard by a much greater audience, and I hope that it reaches out and finds it.
The self-released album was released on 31st July 2020. Below is the band's promotional video for A Sum of Our Parts.
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