LORDS OF BLACK
“Alchemy Of Souls Part II”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Lords Of Black are a heavy metal band from Spain formed in 2014 by vocalist Ronnie Romero (Rainbow) and guitarist Tony Hernando, releasing their self titled debut album later the same year. The band released their sophomore album ‘II’ in 2016, and their third album ‘Icons Of The New Days’ in 2018. Lords Of Black released the first of a double header ‘Alchemy Of Souls Part I’ in 2020, with the second instalment ‘Alchemy Of Souls Part II’ emerging in 2021.

Clocking in at just under an hour in length, ‘Alchemy Of Souls Part II’ is darker and heavier than its ‘Part I’ predecessor, yet doesn’t lose any of the bands penchant for infectious and catchy melodic metal. Twelve songs await as I press play on the highly anticipated successor – ‘Prelude (Alchima Confessio 1458 A.D.)’ creating a tension filled atmosphere over its one minute duration, leading into album opener proper ‘Maker Of Nothingness’, and guitarist Tony Hernando’s song writing wizardry, and also Ronnie Romero’s amazing voice. As previously mentioned, ‘Part II’ is a heavier companion to ‘Part I’, yet the highly melodic nature of the bands sound remains as prominent as ever. ‘Maker Of Nothingness’ is a majestic stroll, a weighty meander of thunder, and an awesome opening to the new album.

An awesome opening that thunders on with ‘What’s Become Of Us’ – a swaggering, foot stomping, up tempo, high energy trot of monolithic melodic intent. Heads will definitely be nodding to this one – foot tapping too, such is the songs infectious nature. And the infectious nature remains high, as ‘Bound To You’ bounces forth with aplomb and so much punch you’ll feel like you’ve gone twelve rounds with a world champion heavy weight boxer! Are your feet still tapping too? Yea, I thought so… With a much slower pace that what has gone before, ‘Before That Time Can Come’ is a meld of mellow and serene with hymn like and ballad nuances, all the while maintaining an element of punch – you know the element, too heavy to be a ballad, too light to be an all out metal march. There’s also a feel of the epic about ‘Before That Time Can Come’, the epic feel that accompanies a tension filled moment in a thriller movie.

And what a great sounding traditional metal guitar riff that gives life to ‘Mind Killer’ – a heavy hitting mid tempo foot stomp. The heaviest of all the songs heard so far, the albums overall incredible melodious streak remains intact. And I don’t think it’s gonna break before the end of the album either…all fifty nine minutes of it! A sudden injection of pace, and we find ourselves galloping forth with the heavy metaller ‘Death Dealer’ – Lords Of Black delivering a scorcher of a mosh pit pleaser, The head bangers of the world are gonna delight in ‘Death Dealer’, a chance at last to give their neck muscles a short workout. For short it will be, as the album resumes its mid tempo march with the menacingly intro’d ‘Prayers Turned To Whispers’. Menacing for all of thirty seconds or so, the melodic streak rising high and changing the whole feel of the song.

With its Iron Maiden-esque epic and tense intro, ‘In A Different Light’ proceeds to pummel the listener with a barrage of heavy hitting and razor sharp riffs – the kinda riffs that are gonna scratch, slice, and lacerate the skin to shreds, eventually requiring emergency medical attention. And all that aggression delivered with an equal amount of melodic intent too… A meaner feel descends upon the album as ‘How Long Do I Have Now’ comes forth with a brutish heaviness that belies the songs melodic manner – Tony Hernando’s song writing skills perfectly executed. An amazing song, and an even more amazing album – still with two songs left to go! ‘Fated To Be Destroyed’ takes over as the albums heaviest song – a real basher of heavy riffs and rhythms to get those heads nodding hard. And the chorus break – wow! That’s all I can say, you’re just gonna have to take a listen for yourselves to find out why it was deserving of a wow reaction. The alums final song, ‘No Hero Is Homeless’ has a lovely guitar led intro, before harsh guitars come crashing and crunching to the fore – the most savage of all the barrages on offer. A very heavy and brutal ending to what has been an incredibly melodic journey.

Overall, a remarkable successor to ‘Part I’ – ‘Part II’ is heavily melodic, overly infectious, and another superb album from a superb band.

TRACKLIST

Prelude (Alchimia Confessio 1458 A.D.)
Maker Of Nothingness
What’s Become Of Us
Bound To You
Before That Time Can Come
Mind Killer
Death Dealer
Prayers Turned To Whispers
In A Different Light
How Long Do I Have Now
Fated To Be Destroyed
No Hero Is Homeless

http://www.lordsofblack.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Lords-Of-Black-745659882125260/

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