EMPRESS
“Fateweaver”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Empress are a symphonic power metal band from the USA formed in 2018, releasing their debut album ‘Fateweaver’ in 2022.

Centred around the vocal talents of singer Barbara Blackthorne and main songwriter and guitarist Vlad Khavin, Empress are a new name in the worldwide symphonic metal arena – more than capable of wrestling with the likes of Kamelot, Nightwish, and Within Temptation. The band are an explosive blend of symphonic and power metal elements, soaring high and hitting hard with devastating precision. The bands debut album features nine songs over forty seven minutes – with opener ‘Legion’ emphatically storming into sight! Pace and power combine perfectly, with the soaring vocals turning ‘Legion’ into a super symphonic power metal opener. The energy and oomph is doubled with ‘Beyond The Sleep’, delivering a much heavier hitting thud by way of gear changes and rhythmic tempo movements. Lead singer Barbara Blackthorne’s vocals soar even higher than the opening song – what a range! Clocking in at over seven minutes in length, ‘Chimera’ is the longest song on offer, opening with a Middle Eastern flavoured acoustic style intro. And then wham and a bam – the band throw fire and brimstone straight outta the speakers and you find yourself involuntarily ducking! The bombastic nature of ‘Chimera’ is incredible, along with the songs progressive strides and Blackthorne’s faultless vocals.

Entering the realms of the majestic epic, ‘The Fall Of Kingdoms’ is a frenetic gallop of gargantuan proportions – that is until the slow down, when ‘The Fall Of Kingdoms’ takes on the aura of a tension fuelled tale. The storytelling nature combined with the bands symphonic roots makes for an opera emulating performance. The high intensity level since the album began remains unbroken as ‘Black Arcana’ romps into view and trots on. More heavy metal than power metal, yet retaining the albums overall symphonic feel, ‘Black Arcana’ is a robust heavy hitter. And at halfway, ‘Fateweaver’ – and indeed Empress – are delivering one of the years biggest surprises, vying for title of Debut Of The Year. Marching on, ‘Monarch’ is epic power metal at its finest, with yet more faultless vocals from Blackthorne. Her ability to deliver traditional metal vocals and then transcend to piercing symphonic vocals is phenomenal – not to mention the song writing and orchestral elements. What a combination…and the albums not over yet!

And OMG! With a stunning increase in pace, energy and oomph, the band accelerates into a new dimension with ‘Into The Grey’ – which incidentally, was the first Empress song I ever heard – and took me by total surprise. The pace and power is sublime, the mix of traditional metal elements with the bands root symphonic power metal sound is gorgeous, ‘Into The Grey’ one of my favourite songs off the album. And what can I say about ‘Immortelle’? Everything you could ever want from a symphonic power metal band – soaring vocals, bombastic and thunderous, all topped off with an addictive rhythm and memorable melodies to keep you hooked right from the start to the very last second. And all too soon the last song is upon us – but do remember, there’s a replay button to press! The final song ‘Eventide’ is a melodic masterpiece. Mid tempo and full of energy, ‘Eventide’ takes a near seven minute majestic stroll around the power metal genre, delivering a hymn-like anthem that is deserving of a standing ovation. What an ending to what has been an amazing album full of surprises and eye opening gems.

Overall, an emphatic and engaging forty seven minutes of symphonic power metal featuring faultless vocals and a sky high infectious level.

TRACKLIST

Legion
Beyond The Sleep
Chimera
Black Arcana
Monarch
Into The Grey
Immortelle
Eventide

https://empresslegion.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Empresslegion

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