Band:	Smoulder
Album:	Violent Creed Of Vengeance
Style:	Doom metal, Heavy metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. Violent Creed Of Vengeance
02. The Talisman And The Blade
03. Midnight In The Mirror World
04. Path Of Witchery
05. Victims Of Fate
06. Spellforger
07. Dragonslayer's Doom

When Smoulder’s debut album came out, traditional metal fans slowly but steadily started to become obsessed with it to the point that, in these four years that went by, it managed to gain the status of a modern classic. Smoulder did not rush to release its follow-up, and it was the right decision.

But they also couldn’t release Violent Creed Of Vengeance earlier anyway. In between the band’s two full-lengths, and after the Dream Quest Ends EP, two of the main members, Sarah Ann and Shon Vincent moved from Canada to Finland. The other band members remained the same, but there is now also a European version of Smoulder that includes musicians who are able to tour in Europe.

Before anything else, I have to reveal that one thing I immensely appreciate about the band is that, in a world full of shitty people, they are very vocal on human rights and gender equality issues. Moreover, Smoulder’s social media is constantly promoting new, underground bands and their work, and this is how you keep the metal fire aflame, as far as I am concerned.

“What about the music?”, I hear you ask. Well, the music is the cup of tea for any traditional metal fan. There is doom metal, speed metal, heavy metal, and power metal, all played with passion and precision, and with the ‘epic’ element cranked up to 11. The influences range from early Blind Guardian and Fates Warning to Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus, with Tales Of Medusa, Lordian Guard, Omen, and Manilla Road (of course) being big influences. The album has a speedy, pulverising track next to every epic, brooding one, and it all culminates with “Spellforger” and “Dragonslayer’s Doom”, which are, in my opinion, two of the best songs Smoulder have ever written, and they showcase how the band excels in both energy and epicness respectively.

The guitar work is brilliant, both in the slower and the faster songs, the rhythm section is killer with an audible bass, and the vocals… well, the vocals are an acquired taste. Epic heavy metal is renowned to have singers with quirky and overpowering voices; from the old and the classic, like Manilla Road’s Mark Shelton, Cirith Ungol’s Tim Baker, or Lordian Guard’s Vidonne Sayre-Riemenschneider, to the younger and ‘modern’, like Jason Tarpey (Eternal Champion) and Uzzy Unchained (Megaton Sword). Sarah’s voice is in that range of being very passionate and unique, but I expect anyone not liking her approach to find difficulty to enjoy the album in general. I personally have come to appreciate it after a lot of listens of Violent Creed Of Vengeance, and I now find that her voice fits the music like a glove.

The cover art by the great Michael Whelan (Cirith Ungol, Obituary, Sepultura) is beyond awesome, as expected, and it fits the lyrical themes of the album that are about revenge on misogynists and rapists, their enablers, and the passive stance of bystanders tolerating such behaviour. These themes come with the infusion of sword and sorcery literature, and there is a surprise guest appearance by fantasy writer Michael Moorcock on “Victims Of Fate” (here is the backstory).

Time will tell if Violent Creed Of Vengeance has actually surpassed Times Of Obscene Evil And Wild Daring. For me, at this point, they are galloping next to each other through the dense, dark forest, in a quest to get closer and closer to the light and the warmth of the dragon’s fire.

“Doomed the champion is to bear The Black Sword for eternity. Torn from another plane through the winds of time, forever to fight for the lords of the higher worlds. Nameless entities, threatening the balance. But In the end, heroes and gods are just Victims of Fate......”

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* This review comes with heaps of gratitude to Sarah, who has been for the last few years my most cherished source of finding new and awesome music. Much of what I recommend, review, and staff pick on Metal Storm is stuff I discovered through Sarah’s and Smoulder’s social media posts. So, if you read this, thank you immensely, Sarah and Smoulder, not only for the awesome music, but for keeping metal’s true spirit alive.