PERSUADER
“Necromancy”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

10/10

Persuader are a power metal band from Sweden formed in 1997, releasing four albums – ‘The Hunter’ (2000), ‘Evolution Purgatory’ (2004), ‘When Eden Burns’ (2006), ‘The Fiction Maze’ (2014) – with their fifth album ‘Necromancy’, a 2020 release.

The bands brand of aggressive and in your face power metal has excited fans for over twenty years, and will continue to do so with their latest offering. The new album features seven songs over an incredible fifty minutes, and is probably the bands most fierce album to date. Opening with the blistering ‘The Curse Unbound’, Persuader launch their new album into the stratosphere with tremendous thrust, and an insane amount of explosive energy. ‘The Curse Unbound’ is fast paced and aggressive, and is a fantastic opening salvo. The blistering pace continues with ‘Scars’ – scorching the Earth as it thunders on by. However, Persuader do switch to mid tempo foot stomping in between the thundering pace. It’s been six years since the bands last release, and God knows what’s got them so pissed. Yes, pissed! It’s almost like someone, or something has pissed them off so much, they’re letting off a considerable amount of steam with this album. The ferocity at which the first two songs have been delivered is immense – I just wonder how ferocious the remaining songs are gonna be!

Extremely fierce is the short answer. ‘Raise The Dead’ is an explosive mix of ferocious intent and blistering pace. The savage barrage coming out of Sweden is the stuff of thrash metal, but Persuader remain a power metal band. A power metal band with thrash leanings, reminiscent of legendary German juggernaut Rage. And the scorching pace continues with ‘Reign In Darkness’, delivering a fire and brimstone experience so devastating buildings are gonna collapse. Yes, collapse! ‘Reign In Darkness’ is wreaking havoc, leaving a trail of destruction and desolation in its wake. This is breathless stuff from the twenty years plus veterans of the metal scene. The energy and oomph is outstanding, Persuader firing on all cylinders as they steam ahead into the albums second half.

The pace of the album is relentless, the intensity level sky high, and the fierceness so bruising a trip to the local A&E is advisable. ‘Hells Command’ does slow the pace a little, but the heaviness remains as heavy as it was at the albums beginning. And it’s not just the music that’s loaded with aggression, the vocals are too. For the bands singer Jens Carlsson, is spitting venom with every lyric he sings. Dropping the full on and in your face aggression just a little bit, ‘Gateways’ is actually more melodic than any of the previous songs. Yet the intensity level remains high and the thunderous nature of the bands brand of power metal still shines through. Persuader have made a late, but very strong, claim for Album Of The Year. Bringing the album to a close, is the eight minutes plus ‘The Infernal Fires’. Epic in every sense of the word, Persuader proceed to run the gamut of heavy, power, anthemic, and melodic metal. From the mellow opening that builds the tension, to the thundering knife edge that is the glory style of heavy metal, ‘The Infernal Fires’ picks up speed and races on at full tilt. What an end to what has been a belter of an album – an album that deserves a place in every power metallers CD collection.

Overall, fast paced and aggression fuelled power metal that’ll leave you breathless and exhausted, yet highly pumped and euphoric.

TRACKLIST

The Curse Unbound
Scars
Raise The Dead
Reign In Darkness
Hells Command
Gateways
The Infernal Fires

https://www.facebook.com/Persuader-50270729045

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