UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – Demons Of The Astrowaste

After their debut album, Behold The Devastation, raised a few heads in the Metal world, the Canadians, Unleash The Archers, are back again with a new album in the same vein — a mixture between Power Metal and Melodic Death Metal. Still independent, free, and untamed, these guys have now released a sort of epical Sci-Fi concept album by the name of Demons Of The Astrowaste. Even though that title sounds a bit uncommon and slightly weird at first, it was part of the reason why this release came across as so interesting.

In comparison to the debut album, Unleash The Archers sounds a lot more progressive and dynamic. Throughout the release there were quite a load of scarce passages and fast tempo shifts. Both create several surly surprises for first time listeners, and nullify expectations of what will come next. Along with their progressive and unending melodic nature, the band still keeps a spot for Traditional Metal by playing a few great parts influenced by ’80s Heavy Metal. The song “Realm Of Tomorrow” is the band’s greatest ’80s-style effort. This one mega-hit, with its powerful chorus and amazing music, really lightens up the album.

However, it was somewhat hard to comprehend Demons Of The Astrowaste as a concept album. Moreover, several of the songs seemed to be disconnected from the main concept and what it tried to channel. Part of that reason was because of the length of the tracks. Nothing against long tunes, yet, there’s the feeling that some of the tracks consist of several parts that just didn’t seem to fit with one another. Unleash The Archers may have progressed, yet some of their songs seem to have a tough time telling the tale in a manner that will engage the listener.

Nevertheless, even if some tracks seem to be disjoined from the concept, Unleash The Archers still knocked out some tunes to blow your mind. “Battle In The Shadow (Of The Mountain)” is a great Progressive Metal turnout with great riffs, both modern and traditional, under a tight production. Once again Brittney Hayes’ vocals are over the top and the massive growls by Brayden Dyczkowski were timed to perfection. “City Of Iron” is another complex tune made of great melodies. Others that were mystifying were the closing “Ripping Through Time”, which crafts suspense on its fade out completion, and “The Outlander” — more of a catchy tune.

Demons Of The Astrowaste might turn out to be rated as less than the band’s former release, yet it shows a band striving to become a lot more articulate, while continuing with the same mix that led them right from the beginning. On its own, that mixture displays a type of uniqueness with a shout of progression … so from here on out, only the sky is the limit for Unleash The Archers.

Tracklist

1. 00:00:01
2. Dawn Of Ages
3. Realm Of Tomorrow
4. General Of The Dark Army
5. Daughters Of Winterstone
6. Battle In The Shadow (Of The Mountain)
7. Despair
8. The Outlander
9. City Of Iron
10. The Fall Of The Galactic Guard
11. Astral Annihilation
12. Ripping Through Time

Lineup

Brittney Hayes – Vocals
Brayden Dyczkowski – Guitar, Vocals
Mike Selman – Guitar
Zahk Hedstrom – Bass
Scott Buchanan – Drums