UNLEASH THE ARCHERS — Apex (review)

Album · 2017 · Power Metal

4/5 · 2017-05-23
adg211288

Although I was a little late to the party that is Canadian power metal act Unleash the Archers, only discovering the band through their third full-length album Time Stands Still (2015), it only took that one album for me to rank the group among the acts I consider the most promising out of power metal acts formed (or at least released their first full-length) within the last decade. A storming guitar driven work with some of the most powerful female vocals in the genre from Brittney Slayes, it ended up being my top rated power metal album of 2015, ranking ahead of even Blind Guardian. No small feat, that. Apex (2017) is Unleash the Archers' fourth album. The group has seen a line-up change since Time Stands Still with a bassist switch from Kyle Sheppard to Nikko Whitworth but otherwise the line-up of the previous album remains intact. The album was mixed and mastered by the prolific Jacob Hansen.

If there was one issue that nagged me about Unleash the Archers' previous album Time Stands Still right from the off, it was that despite the strong power metal sound they had and the excellence of their lead singer they still felt the need to throw growling vocals into their music every so often. It's such a common thing to happen now even in genres like power metal that I'm sure there are many listeners that don't even bat an eyelid to hearing growls in these genres and as Unleash the Archers actually started their career as more of a melodic death metal act perhaps it is to be expected that they wouldn't cast off their roots completely, but their presence in this band's music ended up bugging me more than most. Though the growls used by Unleash the Archers weren't exactly disruptive in any way, as they have been for other artists (such as those on French heavy/power metal act Nightmare's The Aftermath (2014)), it really did beg the question of what purpose they were there to serve by that point. The album was a power metal album. Power metal does not typically have or need growling. It is however only testament to the album's strengths that it still ended up the best power metal album of 2015 to my ears.

Fast-forward to Apex. Like it's predecessor it is a power metal album. It also has the exact same problem: growls. It is my impression that there maybe are a few less this time around, but why are they here at all? They certainly don't add any kind of edge to the music. As far as melodic power metal goes Unleash the Archers provide more than enough edge to set them apart from the crowd within the boundaries of their actual genre by avoiding the whole 'cheesy keyboards' type of cliché that has long been the subject of many jokes and even outright scorn from metalheads of other genre persuasions. I really wonder why the band do it. After all, those growled lines are all lines that aren't being sung by Brittney Slayes. When an artist has a vocalist of this calibre and they play a genre that doesn't traditionally use growling, why it's nigh on a crime against good music. Ironically though it's some clean male vocals from guitarist Andrew Kingsley during eighth track Earth and Ashes are actually a little more unwelcome, since his voice lacks the same power as Brittney's.

However Time Stands Still managed to rise above these issues, and even two years later is still an album I play regularly and can immediately recall any track from, so in that respect if Unleash the Archers can deliver more of the same then that won't actually be a bad thing. To a point the band do just that, with the highlights being Awakening, The Matriarch, Call Me Immortal and the closing title track. But all told the album's tracks don't assert their own individual identities as well as I'd have liked to hear, while False Walls even seems to be a little long at just over eight minutes, though the band pull off a similar length with the title track flawlessly. That one is a very good example as exactly why this band doesn't need those growls: Apex is the best and most epic song here, and it doesn't use them. Neither does the prior Call Me Immortal, which is a great example of a power metal song of a more mid-length with a catchy chorus.

Unleash the Archers' musicianship is of course extremely solid both rhythmically and with the lead guitar work. Brittney Slayes sounds fantastic once again. Even the growls, unnecessary though they might be, are very well done and the clean, polished production work suits the band's style perfectly. However because of the song selection Time Stands Still remains the more memorable album. Apex however is a very good supplementary work for those who already have the previous and want more from where it came from.

more than 2 years ago
Permalink
Report #342232

Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer

Please login to post a shout

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I agree about Epica though and don't enjoy Consign to Oblivion so much with the growls being mostly absent. But it's a different genre, so different rulebook you know?. As a rule I don't really want to hear growls in power metal bands. I could live without them on the Seven Kingdoms self-titled. I'll say this for Unleash the Archers though: if they have to use the growls at least they're decent ones.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I liked the growls on the first Seven Kingdoms album because that one felt more like a true power-death metal hybrid. They're okay on the second but my opinion of that album as a whole has lessened a bit now so I rank it third out of their albums. I still count The Fire is Mine as their best though with that said what I liked most about the band up to that point was how every album had its own feel and identity. They lost that on the new one though I ultimately rated it lower because I just didn't find the songs as memorable. That album and this one are close on my 2017 list but I do think this one has more memorable songs. It's almost a 4.5 (same way that Time Stands Still is almost a 5.0).

666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

On one hand I generally agree that when there's an excellent clean vocalist growls often detract from an album, but on the other there are some bands I actually enjoy the interplay between them, this being one of them on Time Stands Still, which was a five star album for me. Epica is another such band.

Good review though, I'm looking forward to getting this one.

DippoMagoo wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I find this review interesting, because I first discovered this band on their second album, right when they were transitioning from pure melodeath to melodeath with power metal elements, so I've always considered the growls an important feature of their music. I always thought they helped the band stand out a bit compared to other power metal bands, and even on this album I find they fit in great. I'm actually relieved to hear they kept to those elements in o this album, because I was afraid they'd pull a Seven Kindgoms and go completely one dimensional, but this album is definitely still quite varied, while obviously being more pure power metal than their first two. I agree that False Walls is a bit weak, but overall I like the album about as much as the last one, so far.