DARKLON
“The Redeemer”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Darklon are a heavy/power metal band from Greece formed in 2017 by ex Embrace Fire guitarist D. K. Kras, releasing two albums to date – ‘Rise From Death’ (2019) and ‘The Redeemer’, released in 2023…

…featuring eight songs in a little over thirty minutes! The band are a powerhouse of speed and energy, the new album roaring into life with the scorching hot (title song) ‘The Redeemer’. The pace and power is urgent, galloping forth with all the gusto of traditional “foot on the monitor” heavy metal – holding its head high with elegance and poise. A fast paced and engaging opener to grab the attention of listeners everywhere, the band remain in exuberant mood as ‘The Redeemer’ (the album) rockets on with the much faster ‘Rancor And Agony’, upping the levels of energy and oomph to new heights! The intent and purpose oozing from ‘Rancor And Agony’ is phenomenal, Darklon offering an opening double shot that’s gonna set the world of heavy metal ablaze.

The album takes on a much heavier ambience with the thundering ‘I Am Death’, raging like a wildfire, causing devastation wherever it may roam, and banging the heads of every single metalhead everywhere. And banging them hard too! The crushing heaviness is glorious, the album getting better and better the longer it runs – ‘Lamashtu’s Claws’ taking a more melodic path than any of the songs heard so far. Yet the intensity remains intact, Darklon losing none of the albums oomph, energy and power. All of which are trebled for ‘Iron Glory’, a high velocity gallop of head bang-able and immensely old school flavoured heavy metal. Yes it slows down a little for the chorus, but ultimately ‘Iron Glory’ is how heavy metal should sound. And it’s fucking glorious!

‘The Bloodstone’ revamps the feel of the album, moving into the heavy hitting, doom laden realm of legends Black Sabbath. The swagger is incredible, the mighty foot stomping offering a punishing, pummelling and pounding sensation that becomes a high velocity tirade over the highly chant-able chorus! Come on everyone, all together “the bloodstone, the bloodstone”. Simply great stuff! The band remain in slow and heavy mood for the menacing ‘The Downfall’, coming across as a mean and much darker song than everything heard so far. The band are now running around the heavy metal genre, rather than just standing firm in the middle – and that’s what gives the album variety. Fair play Darklon for keeping ‘The Redeemer’ (the album) alive and retaining listeners, fans and followers attention. Bringing the album to a close, ‘Way Back Home’ sets off at an incredibly fast pace, slowing down just like a progressive metaller, finally adopting the mighty mid tempo anthemic stomp. There’s a certain epic edge to ‘Way Back Home’, placing it alongside bands such as Manowar, Sabaton, and Saxon.

Overall, an engaging blend of power come heavy metal, highly infectious and massively memorable.

TRACKLIST

The Redeemer
Rancor And Agony
I Am Death
Lamashtu’s Claws
Iron Glory
The Bloodstone
The Downfall
Way Back Home

https://darklon.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DarklonMetal/

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