New York/Pennsylvania melodic metal warriors, Severed Angel bring you their 2nd album, ‘Skyward’, released in early May.
Developing their compositions, within the same signatures, ‘Skyward’ follows 2023’s self-titled debut.
A DIY band, SA take great pride in their work; ensuring they only release material of the highest quality.
Recorded and produced independently, in collaboration with Joel Wanasek, ‘Skyward’ combines all SA’s inspirations, crafting a modern personal twist from them.
Deliberately written as the conclusion to the debut album’s closer, ‘With Wings Anew’, intro track, ‘From The Inside’ forms a smooth course to the rest of the album.
Featured single, ‘Tyrant On The Throne’ includes an associated video animation, created in collaboration with Frostbite BC bassist, Mandeer.
Designing the track, ‘Never Look Back’ as a strike back against doubters and detractors, it’s also a rallying call to others, to pursue their dreams.
Featuring guest vocalist, Gail Bourque, on ‘Citipati’.
‘Skyward’ will be available, from 3rd May, both digitally and physically. CD’s are available for pre-order, from the band’s website, from 13th May.
SA is:
Alex Repetti (vocals, guitar), Lou Mavs (guitar, vocals), George Dimitri (bass), Mark Muchnik (keyboards) and Wayne Noon (drums).
From The Inside – Slight delay and then into meaningful sounds; segueing, smoothly, from contemplative, to full force metal. Interweaving between the two. Pressured, cave-like roars add greater power to the sharp acuity and bass depths. Easy fade-out.
Live Your Imagination – Slamming thrust hits, at once. Straight out, full pelt speed, with powered metallic force. Still as melody driven, with more cave-like roars and consistently fast rhythms. Lots of intensity. Never relenting, for a moment.
A Perfect Disaster – Moving in, gradually and building intensity. Slight echoed suggestion, in places. Well held vocal tones. Just a hint of stoner style, here and there. Deeper, darker vocal sections, at times and a few more effects. Stretching out the melody and stylistic quirks. Continuing to build the pressure, rattling on, till the end, closing with a shouted lyric.
Skyward – Heavy drum hits open. Into an upbeat melody. Synth effects, on and off. Good, breathy sounds. A bit grittier, in places. Very decent delivery. Accessible enough rhythms. Could do with a few more hooks. Smooth fade.
Life Is Here And Now – Moving in smoothly, with a bigger drum presence. Here, death roars interact with sung lyrics, from the start. Backing choirs add a little more variety. Synths add more strength to the sound. Dramatic phases, here and there and sporadic roars. Well hit screams and a rainbow riff scale, ¾ in. Drums booming, some more. Just an edge of melancholia creeping into the vocals and supportive synths boost it, some more, at the dramatic end.
Move Through The Dark – Banging intro. Stronger rhythms and touches of screech. Slanting riffage. Sleaze-tinged sounds and rhythms. Quick pace and a darker lyrical slant. Adopting an aptly darker delivery. Choruses as dark as the verses. Monster roars, conveyed like Masters of the Universe forms. A slight touch of Eastern enigma, in the riffage, ¾ in. Some good slanting riffs hit, before the final fade.
Tyrant On The Throne – Intro’ing on some background noise and a wah-filled riff. Staying with that slight stoner essence. Building it up, to a fuller sound, with darker underpinnings. Taking the vocals up, to new heights; injecting more of that Marvel Heroes essence, here and there. Adding a bit more wah, in places. It rolls along well enough. While it’s definitely got a commercially popular sense about it, it could just use a stronger metallic bent and slightly more memorable variety.
Never Look Back – Good intro compression; possibly, the strongest, yet! Here, those rhythms roll, comfortably, from the first. Similar structures to the rest, but now, adding a well-fitting Celtic element and raising the mood, with more uplifting tones. This may well be the stand-out track. Much clearer feel-good melodies). Even a hint of a suggestion of Viking metal threads. Sustaining that uplift, right till the end.
Tranquillity In Conflict – Fast-paced drum rolls and riffage intro, with feeling packed into them. Taking the mood down, slightly, with a change of melody; this time, adding a keyboard section. Well handled rhythms; just fast enough to retain accessibility. Sustaining the pace quite well; injecting another Eastern touch. Plenty of obvious proficiency. Not sure about those closing screams. They’re just slightly out, from hitting the right tones, in melodic listenability terms.
Citipati (Funeral Pyre Lord) – An intriguing mechanical, cinematic opening, bringing the right atmospheric power, from the beginning. Better build-up and melodic intensity. That male/female vocal duet works well; fitting the style. An unusual vocal quirk appears, in places, but still, it fits this track’s stylistics. Yielding and driving forward, in the right places; centralising those drum rolls well, while emphasising the riffage. Stronger execution, to the end.
Overall – In itself, ‘Skyward’ delivers well, with enough of the right ingredients; even featuring a stand-out track, or 2. (‘NLB’ and ‘Citipati’). However, it does need more individuality, still and a few more memorable hooks, to make its mark and sustain that originality and signature creation. More than proficient, but further development and a bit more imagination would boost its appeal, more.
8/10 ********
For fans of Immortal Empire, Def-Con-One, Resurrecturis, Amon Amarth.
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