Lancaster, England heavy metal act Promethium return with their third album, titled Faces of War, which shows the band really hitting their stride as they celebrate a decade together as a musical force. Citing influences such as Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera, the band have really tried to isolate their own identity here on their latest platter of metal thunder, drawing bits of power metal, doom, and the NWOBHM but coming across very fresh and original sounding in the process. Steve Graham has one of the more intriguing vocal deliveries you'll hear, at one moment he's firing off a volley of hardcore style bellows, the next he's soaring in Euro styled power metal mode. Guitarists Dan Lovett-Horn & Rossi both contribute a wealth of super crunchy riffs and tasty solos, which drive thumpers such as "Enemies Fate", "P.O.W.", "Turncoat", and "Declaration", and the rhythm team of bassist Henry Greenwood & drummer Kev Yates, hold down the bottom end quite nicely, with much of the band also contributing backing vocals on most songs, giving the album a very rich and full sound from a vocal perspective.
One of the highlight tracks here on Faces of War is "Stolen Valour", complete with a killer riff and galloping, stop/start rhythms that hook you in from the start, clean vocals colliding with gruff backing vocals for maximum effect. The closing title cut reminds a little of early Mastodon with its beefy riffs and layers of backing vocals, and drives home the overall concept of the entire album, which as you can guess is all about war themes. From a lyrical perspective, and even musically in spots, might be reminded of Iced Earth a bit, but as I mentioned above, Promethium have seemingly tried very hard here to reveal their true identity on Faces of War, and overall it has really worked. Still, a couple of tunes don't have much staying power, but the majority are powerful headbangers that show a band with a lot to offer. Well done guys!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. Enemies Fate
2. Declaration
3. P.O.W
4. Shell Shock
5. 20,21,15
6. Turncoat
7. Stolen Valour
8. Final Solution
9. Kill On Demand
10. Faces Of War
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