Black Royal – Lightbringer
Release Date: 9th March 2018
Label: Suicide Records
Black Royal are a Finnish death metal band that have described their musical style as “death blues”. Following the release of their EPs, The Summoning Pt. 1 in 2015 and The Summoning Pt.2 in 2016, they have returned with their first full-length album.
Lightbringer is set into motion with Cryo-Volcanic, bringing with it a heavy instrumental intro, an electronic sounding guitar riff, and the first look at lead vocalist, Riku’s, hardcore vocals. The ending of this song brings us to the catchy beat of Self-Worship.
The third track on the album, Salvation, features a dramatic instrumental intro and a repetitive beat which we hear throughout the song. The following track, Denial, is a fast pace tune that is almost certain to at least get your feet tapping the floor.
Song number five is Pentagram Doctrine, which includes a catchy beat, although it does not show much variation from the instrumental style seen so far on the album. Track 6, Lightbringer, greets us with a drum intro and a further set of powerful vocals.
The album’s seventh track, The Chosen, offers a softer intro before kicking off with another heavy and rapid pace beat, also featuring what seems to be some low growling vocals in the background. This then takes us to Dying Star, a song presenting a tuneful intro and an instrumental beat which softens around halfway through the track.
New World Order, track 9, brings softer instrumentals than what has been seen throughout the rest of the album and shows a change in vocal style as it comes to an end. This takes us to the album’s final and closing track, Ou[t]roboros, finishing up with a very soft and acoustic song this time featuring female vocals which made me question if I was even listening to the same band that created the rest of the tracks throughout the album.
The first three quarters of Lightbringer focused on a heavy and rough style of vocals and instrumental use, which, although creative, caused some confusion with the last couple of tracks which involved much softer material. Although not strictly my cup of tea, I am sure that Black Royal’s initial full-length album will be enjoyable for fans of classic death metal bands such as the likes of Behemoth or Children Of Bodom.
Recommended Track: The Chosen
Rating: 6.5/10
To hear more from Black Royal, be sure to check out the following links:
Bandcamp: blackroyal.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/blackroyalmusic