Label: Independent
Date: July 15th, 2020
By some miracle, an absolutely unknown band for me but well known band members. Hm… What is wrong with this picture?
Since The Lightbringer is already taken by Canadian melodic power/black metal band, I guess it was as easy to add of Sweden and you got the new band name. Tricky one, because, you might think they all come from Sweden, but-wrong! We have an intruder!
Lars Eng started the project in 2017. In the meantime, he gathered a group of Swedish musicians. Jonsson was playing for many years with melodic rockers Angeline. Originally Niklas Stålvind (Wolf) was in The Lightbringer of Sweden, and when he decided to focus on Wolf’s album “Feeding the Machine”, then Eng had to find a solution. And what a solution! Herbie Langhans! The original plan for Langhans was to sing on the first single only (“Skeletor”), but… As we hear, now he sings on all the songs on the debut album. Power metal would never be complete without the influence of German forces, so Herbie Langhans took the role of the lead singer. Intruder found! Herbie Langhans must be one of the busiest vocalists in 2020. Well, not only in 2020. Working with Avantasia he has miles around the globe, besides this year he has joined Firewind, now The Lightrbinger of Sweden released their debut album… That is the pure definition of the word workaholic.
I have to go back and focus once again on the name of the band. For all of you who might have no idea, the Lightbringer is actually the Devil himself. The “Rise of the Beast” concept is focused on the Lightbringer who always has a lantern with him to collect the souls. Skeletor, Devil’s little helper, has been sent to a mission: he has to collect 1000 souls so the beast can rise from the hell and make his own playground on planet Earth. The Devil collects the souls while he is fighting with the angels.
“Rise of the Beast” is the fusion of hard rock, heavy metal and power metal. Most mid tempo songs are pleasant to listen to on cold rainy days. 80’s sound with modernish production. If you add an interesting concept, then, there is no doubt, you need to love this album.
The battle between heaven and hell begins… “The Moon”… The bell chimes, rain (or fire cracking, I might be deaf), whispers… Storyteller introduces us with the story… Who will win and who will lose this war? One thing is for sure, the Lightbringer is here to stay… No one can run, no one can hide… The new world order… Up tempo “Fallen Angels” draws us deeper into the story. The next is the powerful ballad “The Beast Inside of Me” (the second single). This is one of those ballads with the lyrics that chill your bones. I walking alone in the dark, I feel the shadows watching me, a deep cold breath in my neck, my blood turned to ice…
The next song “One by One” (the third single) continues into the same direction, a bit accelerated, but still we are in the field of ballads. Now the time is come to bring the beast back, surrounded by a thousand souls, death comes alive, the angels are crying, the world is lost… The fourth single taken from this album is “Into the Night”. If the beast is chasing you than you… Run as fast as you can, run for your life, into the night… Upper tempo, drum domination, astonishing guitar solo, and if you are fast enough to follow Herbie’s tempo you will escape!
Out in the night, Skeletor strikes, searches for the blood, searches for the souls, again you need to run… He rises from the grave. Attack, screams, cold night, fight, up tempo again, powerful song will hunt you and won’t leave you alone. After “Skeletor” (the first single), his master, the Lightbringer, the Devil himself, bringer of pain, comes alive! Cry for help! Fast tempo, scream vocal at the beginning, catchy chorus (out in the night, out in the cold, he is ready to fight, searching for blood, searching for souls, he will never leave you alone…) lead us to the “Save Us”, that might be the best song on this album. Up tempo, thunderous drumming, amazing guitar solos, catchy chorus, all you need to hear from metal at one place. Heaven has fallen and become a Devil’s playground, everything is lost but nothing is forgotten… Another ballad, “Heaven Has Fallen”, brings a brilliant guitar solo. Mentioning vocal interpretation is completely unnecessary knowing who the owner of angelic vocal cords is.
If I wrote any of the songs from this album as my favorite, then forget it! Absolute favorite is the last one “Shadows of the Night” with its chorus: shadows of the night, come out to the light, shadows of the night, please don’t take my life, scream in the night, you can’t win this fight, run like you never run before… Add impressive guitars, catchy, melodic chorus, close your eyes run like you never run before!
When I look back at everything I wrote, I can freely say that the band can take all the credits for this review. I never had the desire to quote song lyrics, but the whole concept, each letter, word and verse are exceptional and it would be a shame not to bring them closer to potential listeners.
Besides extraordinary musicians, well developed story, adequate music that supports it; young Swedish artist, Isabell Sarstedt, whose cover art perfectly depicts album atmosphere, Fredrik Nordström’s and Ronny Milianowicz’s mix and mastering are completing the story of very successful debut album.
