Band:	By Fire And Sword
Album:	Glory
Style:	Heavy metal, Power metal
Release date:	September 22, 2023
A review by:	nikarg

01. Leave A Little Room
02. Fear And Trembling
03. The Feast
04. Tap The Conduit
05. Tithe (The Money Song)
06. Glory, Love And Light!
07. A Moment Of Silent Reflection
08. Mind, Body, Soul (Total War)
09. The Flood
10. Dear Reverend (Please Take My Hand)

”I am saying this because we must be saved… the Lord is powerful, and he will smite the sinners and send them to everlasting hell… if you do not live your life for him, then to the lake of fire you shall go…”
Eric Cartman - South Park, S04 E10.

By Fire And Sword were introduced to you through our Clandestine Cuts series, where we featured the band’s debut EP, Freedom Will Flood All Things With Light. It was a standout release in the overpopulated New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal pool from a band that showed a lot of promise. The band’s debut LP, Glory, more than fulfills that promise.

The ingredients are tried and true; epic heavy metal, power metal, speed metal, and a touch of doom and hard rock. Add to these a satirical religious twist, full of sarcasm and irony, and you’ll find that By Fire And Sword’s sermon is sure to convert you to become faithful followers of The First Holy Church of the Children of Light. The Honorable Reverend Tim Tom Jones is a blessed leader, gifted with a voice that attracts his flock like a magnet, and he is putting to shame a long list of contemporary mediocre and talentless singers that have the audacity to front NWOTHM bands. He is also in luck because Brother Jeffrey gives him a glorious foundation of hooky riffs, melodic solos, and groovy bass lines to preach his gospel upon. Brother Jeffrey has also posted a video discussing his influences, while writing the material of Glory, and he mentions some cool little albums, like Eternal Champion’s Armor Of Ire, DragonForce’s Inhuman Rampage, Kamelot’s Epica, Unleash The Archers’ Apex, and Orden Ogan’s Ravenhead. I do indeed hear all that, and I also sense quite a bit of Blue Öyster Cult’s magic. The mix is favouring a proto-metal approach, and all the instruments have enough room to breathe, with the vocals being a little more in the limelight, which is understandable, given the band’s character.

The songs have a fair amount of variation regarding both tempo and structure, and this is another very important element that puts them above the competition. Songs like “Fear And Trembling”, “Tap The Conduit”, and “The Flood” are so memorable and at the same time so different from each other. However, I cannot but single out “Leave A Little Room” because it has the catchiest heavy metal riff of the year, along with Megaton Sword’s “Power”. It is an absolutely infectious track, the type of thing you want to play again and again, and sing along with it. If I have any criticism for the album, it’s the fact that this shouldn’t have been the opening track, but the closing one. Every time I start playing Glory, I have to listen to “Leave A Little Room” at least three times before I move on to the rest of the album, which makes its total runtime become more than an hour.

The Reverend needs you to tap the conduit. What are you waiting for?

“Leave a little room in the pit of your soul
Leave a little room and we’ll make you whole
Leave a little room and we’ll come right through”