BETHESDA – Bethesda

Bethesda are a Swedish Christian metal band formed by vocalist Germán Pascual and guitarist Torbjörn Weinesjö in 2014. Unfortunately, due to schedule conflicts, the band didn’t begin recording their self-titled debut album until 2022. The lineup that plays on the album consists of Pascual on lead vocals, Torbjörn Weinesjö on guitars, Thomas Weinesjö on drums, and Gabriel Ingemarson on bass guitar. Bethesda’s self-titled debut album will be released on January 30, 2026 through Roxx Records.

A Musical Catastrophe

On the plus side, every single member in the band can certainly play. The downside is that the album feels very disjointed because the band tried to combine different genres, such as southern rock and hard rock, into their music and the results were not promising. It’s cool that Bethesda don’t want to be a straight-up metal band, but if they’re going to play with different genres, the changes have to be natural and not so forced. There are decent tracks and bits of the album that are good, thankfully. “Power” has a killer groove, the bass line is banging, and the chorus has a good hook. “Path and the Circle” is a very tasteful melodic rocker with remarkable vocals from Pascual. “Caving In” is another groovy track with southern rock flavors and a juicy bass line. “Put My Faith in You” is the most metal track on the entire album because of its dark atmosphere and crunchy guitar riff.

There are a lot of good ideas on the album musically and Pascual has the vocal chops for it. However, the band tried to combine too many genres on certain songs and the changes didn’t gel naturally. “I Will Return,” for example, has a funky guitar riff that’s reminiscent of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” Well, at least part of the song does. The other part of the song is trying to be an inspiring ballad that, unfortunately, drags on forever. Same thing with “Holy Ground,” which is a midtempo rocker with a bizarre combination of southern rock, heavy metal, hard rock, and melodic rock. Another problem with Bethesda’s self-titled debut album is the songs are too long, ranging from four to eight minutes long. The longest song on the album is eight minutes and 21 seconds total, which is for “As the Time Goes By,” and ironically enough, the time goes by very slowly and that’s before the four-minute mark. The repetitive chorus doesn’t help much either.

Final Assessment

The best musical parts on the album are when Bethesda dip their toes into southern rock because the guitars have a dirty classic rock sound that fits the genre really well. The bass guitar is prominent in the mix, which came in handy for the funk rock bits. Pascual’s voice has an operatic singing style similar to Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, which definitely worked in his favor. As mentioned earlier, the instrumentation is not the problem. That award goes to the songwriting, which lacked any sort of clear direction. As always, however, it’s based on perspective because everyone hears things differently. So, if interested, give Bethesda’s self-titled debut album a chance!

Album Tracklist

1. Power
2. This Is the End
3. Path and the Circle
4. I Will Return
5. Caving In
6. Fire in Me
7. Put My Faith in You
8. Lens of Time
9. Holy Ground
10. The Night (CD Only Bonus Track)
11. As the Time Goes By (CD Only Bonus Track)

Band Lineup

Germán Pascual – lead vocals
Torbjörn Weinesjö – guitars
Thomas Weinesjö – drums
Gabriel Ingemarson – bass guitar

Check out “Power” from Bethesda’s self-titled debut studio album!