PHAËTHON – Wielder Of The Steel

vote
6.5

• Band:
  PHAETHONY
• Duration: 00:42:57
• Available from: 08/30/2024
• Label:

• Gates Of Hell Records

Londoners Phaëthon, after forming in 2020, entered the market in 2021 with their debut mini LP “Sacrifice Doth Call” and a sound indebted to bands like Manowar, Bathory and Cirith Ungol: sound coordinates that take us, without a shadow of a doubt, to territories of the American school and that we find in this second studio work entitled “Wielder Of The Steel”.
This new chapter of the band fits into that heavy metal scene that in recent years has found new life, reincarnating in many new musical proposals inevitably indebted – some more, some less – to the classic sound of the eighties, a movement often too praised and praised, which is not always synonymous with quality, with proposals sometimes lacking in character or adequate technical ability.
Phaëthon do not lack character at all: their approach does not pay much attention to the easy impact or to the large audience, accustomed to hummable songs, on the contrary. It is a leaden, dark and refined heavy metal with epic and doom influences and a personal and powerful sound; it often crashes into combative and aggressive scenarios, as demonstrated by the earth-shaking opener “Eternal Hammerer”, which certainly has a high dose of grit and energy, attacking hard with decisive riffs and wild drums.
What is not convincing is the throat of the singer, leader and also guitarist of the band, Vrath (and here are the technical limits that we mentioned above, and that do not concern the instrumental side): a voice that is too cavernous, raw and ungainly, capable, of course, in some situations of adapting to this rustic and dark sound, but that instead, as you listen, actually turns out to be a strong limit within the album, manifesting itself clearly for example in the final suite of almost ten minutes where, in the initial acoustic part, all the technical limits of the English singer emerge.
It's a shame, since the tracklist would have a lot on its plate, especially when the British band decides to strike without hesitation, showing their most courageous and resolute side, as in the intense and decisive “Vanguard Of The Emperor”, where very sharp axes pave the way for vocal lines that are quite incisive here (here are the influences towards Bathory!), and then with the pairing “Blasphemers” – “Phaëthon Must Fall”, where rampant guitars flow quickly within a more direct heavy, in which even Vrath's throat seems to be more at ease. He also tries to use a shouted voice – with not too much success, in our opinion – during “For The Greater Good Of Evil”, in which more classical sounds mix with extreme influences; a dark imprint that goes hand in hand with the instrumental part, which instead runs away with its head down and without hesitation.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the suffering doom of “Tolls of Perdition”, which continues its slow and breathless march with cadenced and penetrating riffs, accompanying the almost narrated voice of the singer up to an intense guitar solo, almost in contrast with the greyer atmosphere of the song.
“Wielder Of The Steel” is a brave and personal album that would probably have had – and deserved – a different (better?) result with the presence of a more prepared and captivating voice. And what if in the future Phaëthon added a role singer to their lineup? We hope so!