Antioch VII: Gates of Obliteration

vote
7.5

• Band:
  ANTIOCH
• Duration: 00:43:25
• Available from: 27/09/2024
• Label:

• Iron Shield Records

Streaming not yet available

A little over a year has passed since the previous “Antioch VI – Molten Rainbow” and the Canadians are back on the market with their seventh studio album (the calculation also includes the three EPs) preceded by the single “Onward With Obliteration”, released in the middle of summer.
Compared to its predecessor, there are practically no new features: same three-piece lineup, same German label specializing in old-school metal, and above all, same approach to music and writing.
This “Gates Of Obliteration” is in all respects similar to the other works of the power trio from Ontario, strengths and weaknesses included. The formula of the brothers Jordan and Brendan Rhyno (who take care of all the instruments) and Nicholas Allaire (on vocals) is that of a dynamic, melodic and energetic heavy metal, which looks unmistakably to the 80s, with both European and American influences: Judas Priest, Manowar, Anvil, Running Wild, Accept and Warlord, these are the first names that come to mind when listening to the works of Antioch.
Despite the stylistic references being unmistakable, the Canadian boys manage to reinterpret the lesson of these sacred monsters of heavy metal in a way that is at least fresh and pleasant, if not original. In this regard, we point out that the production on the new born is more powerful and incisive than in the past, certainly a point in favor of these standard-bearers of the new 'Canadian metal'.'.
The songs are (almost) always there, with a very good balance between riffs, solos, melodies and choruses, thanks to an anthemic attitude that pervades almost all the pieces, which alternate more relaxed moments with others 'high voltage'. And so “Frozen Highway” proves to be an excellent calling card, rhythmic and with sycophantic melodies that look a lot to the stars and stripes metal, certainly one of the most successful pieces of the album, while “Legend Of Tudohm” is more epic, nervous and on the shields, but equally convincing.
The pain comes right on the lead single “Onward With Obliteration”, a very tight power metal piece that looks to Priest’s “Firepower” but at the same time highlights all the limits of Allaire’s vocal performance, already well known to those who know the band: although undoubtedly versatile, the singer suffers on the too high notes, resulting strangled and croaking, a characteristic that has inevitably made more than one listener turn up their noses. And as banal as it may be, it must be said that evidently Antioch likes the final result, given that they continue to propose this type of vocality (see “Understand” and the conclusive “In The Throes Of Arcane Lust”), even if fortunately it is not a constant, on the contrary.
The other limit of the band is inherent in the proposal itself, linked to a certain basic repetitiveness that leads some solutions to resemble each other very much (within the album as well as in their discography). That said, the songs are well written, intelligently constructed and carefully arranged: Antioch do not hold back and in the end the melodic taste and the richness of the proposal win over the defects. “Gates of Obliteration” may not be a masterpiece but it is still an album that can be listened to several times with pleasure, a pulsating testimony of an extremely genuine way of making heavy metal.