UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – Abyss

UNLEASH THE ARCHERS - Abyss
  • 8.1/10
    UNLEASH THE ARCHERS - Abyss - 8.1/10
8.1/10

Summary

Napalm Records
Release date: August 21, 2020

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Canadian Power Metallers Hit Bullseye

Female fronted Symphonic Metal/ Power Metal band Unleash the Archers have been hard at work since their inception in 2007, and have just released their 3rd album on Napalm Records titled Abyss.  The band is fronted by founding member Brittney Hayes (a.k.a. Brittney Slayes) on vocals with Scott Buchanan hammering the drums and twin guitars by Grant Truesdell and Andrew Kingsley performing musical acrobatics to rival the best. One thing that did stand out as being a little unusual is the lack of a bass guitar player, which at times is noticeable but not necessarily a detriment to the overall sound.

Into the Abyss

From start to finish Abyss draws you in with it’s haunting melodies and blazing guitar pyrotechnics, showcasing the band’s song writing ability and overall musicality. The album was produced by Jacob Hansen of Denmark’s Hansen Studios, and really shines as the band’s best work to date. The vocal work is stunning, and the guitars are catchy and quite amazing.

Favorite Tracks

This is one of those albums that you can put on and listen to all the way through, and in our age of short attention spans and custom playlists it’s a refreshing accomplishment. Though I could talk about any of the songs, my personal favorites include the awesome “Soulbound” with all it’s power and glory along with the lightning fast “Faster than Light” and the epic “The Wind That Shapes The Land”.

Final Notes

Unleash the Archers have taken a huge step forward with Abyss, and can be proud of their accomplishment. The sound quality, production, musicality and song writing is all top notch, giving us a very worthy addition to 2020’s best Power Metal releases. Give it a listen and I think you’ll agree that Unleash the Archers are on the road to greatness.

Unleash The Archers band photo by Shimon Photo
Photo by Shimon Photo

Lineup

Brittney Hayes (a.k.a. Brittney Slayes) – clean vocals
Scott Buchanan – drums
Grant Truesdell – guitar, unclean vocals
Andrew Kingsley – guitar, unclean vocals

Abyss – Tracklist

01. Waking Dream
02. Abyss
03. Through Stars
04. Legacy
05. Return To Me
06. Soulbound
07. Faster Than Light
08. The Wind That Shapes The Land
09. Carry The Flame (feat. guitarist Andrew Kingsley on guest vocals)
10. Afterlife (feat. orchestration by Francesco Ferrini)

Author

  • Bryce Van Patten

    Bryce is an audio engineer and a graphic designer here at Metal Express Radio. From the day he purchased his first album (Machine Head by Deep Purple), he has had a passion for heavy music, which has influenced his whole life. Bryce is from the great Pacific Northwest in USA, and has played in metal bands like Babylon, Holy Terror, The Wild Dogs, Warhead and Egypt through the 80s. He had his first interview for the Portland, Oregon publication The Rock Rag with guitarist Paul Gilbert in his Racer X days. Then he was honored to get to have drinks, and talk for an hour with the legendary Dan McCafferty of Nazareth for his second interview. In 2013, he spent an amazing hour talking to Andi Deris of Helloween, which was the high point of his heavy metal journalism.   In the year 2001, he formed Man in Black Music Publishing. They released recordings by several local bands, and in the spirit of the old Metal Massacre compilations, he created a 2-album series called The Defenders of Metal. The albums featured classic styled Metal bands from all around the world, with bands from Australia to England, and from Argentina to Russia. Currently, he is the producer/creator/vocalist of the Metal band The Black Tuesdays.

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