Stockholm-based heavy metal band IGNITED is set to release its second full-length album, Cradle of the Wicked. The follow-up to 2019’s Steelbound will be out on October 27.

Cradle of the Wicked was recorded, produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden by Fredrik Nordström. Additional engineering and edits by Robert Kukla. Songwriting on Cradle of the Wicked by Dalton Castro, Martin Bellucci, Maurício Velasco. The album was recorded in August 2022. 

Clawhammer PR

Review

Heavy metal bands, like some humans tend to migrate not only from country to country, yet further, crossing oceans and continents, from the place of their inception to a soil of more fertile possibilities. Such is the case with today’s review heroes – IGNITED, which initially originated in Brazil (a cradle for myriad of excellent formations) to transfer their career to one of the promised lands of European hard music – Sweden. Dating back just little over five years, igniting their debut dynamite in 2019, under the title of “Steelbound” (pretty Fear Factory style of front cover by the way), the quartet engaged in building their name on the road, opening for some great acts across South America, soon put label contract in their hands. One thing led to another, so the guys made headway Stockholm, Sweden, to deliver us their sophomore punch – “Cradle of the Wicked”. 

The “Steelbound” debut got quite highly acclaimed by the genre critics on both side of the Atlantic Ocean, seriously raising the bar of expectation to the quarter. By default, second-born albums are quite a critical pivotal point for each band, with countless examples of ups and down during the last almost five decades of heavy metal. Excited, we enter the elevator, to discover would this be an easy ride or a head-spinning rollercoaster? Opening with the self-titled is a double-edged sword, yet “Cradle Of The Wicked” grabs you straight by the balls and I am sure from the first verse, all those JUDAS PRIEST devotees will turn the volume to the max. Hats down for the raw energy this one streams and the abovementioned analogy is not a cliché. It’s an endorsement. Short, beautifully ferocious battering ram, fueled by high-pitched razor-sharp vocal mastery.  “The Overflow” keeps up the tempo and bombarding beats, stepping down a bit on the singing intensity. More melodious and guitar focused, there is not a single shadow of a doubt where we’re flowing to. Exquisite solos, achieved on a single guitar setup amaze with unmatched synchronicity to the rest of the instrumental work to a level that leaves me open-mouthed in blissful state of extasy. An intrinsic metal meltdown, by all popular standards!

  Mesmerizing mysticisms poises the air “At The Damned’s Hall”, but don’t rushed to be fooled. There we still find chainsaw solos delivered on a graceful progressive plate, allowing us to catch some breath after the initial ruthless slaughter. This tempered track is voicing clearly 21^st century interpretation of deep and strong memorial roots, while vigorously riding the waves of stormy artistic descendancy to slowly diffuse in the embrace of gentle acoustic finale. At this stage everybody should be “Bloody Satisfied” and eager to welcome a fair portion of wicked, mischievous at some bits vocals. There is a new weapon in the band’s arsenal – one igniting a charge of power-metal powder producing holy smoke, sparkling the curiosity of those who still long for those uneasy years at the end 90ties. Reaching the final chords of that track you almost hear the devilish giggle of an unholy rite, teasing the imagination of what’s about to follow. “Uncontrollable” wastes no time in putting us in the eye of the storm to twist and turn around our perception for the album in general. Chronologically we’re right in the middle of this journey and we can say with much bigger certainty that the intro NWOBHM expression is moving aside to make space for more modern-day composition, with polished orchestration, not that raw attitude, yet equally captivating and easily engraving in our minds. It won’t be exaggerated to notice even certain epic footprints seeing through the fluid sound of that one.

And when I said “epic”, “The Sewer Lords” come to support my thesis. A slower paced shredder with vibrant vocals, instantly gains our respect, even with the hard-rock flavor one can audibly taste. This track is both moderate in tempo and catchy in attitude, getting more and more prog inclination as pushing towards the end. “Life Goes By” naturally collates to its predecessor, being definitely more balladic and melodic, not so tense and uncompromising. Most proper candidate for radio single or video clip, yet far from a synthesis to represent the album as a whole. Here we notice an interesting and harmonious dialogue between the solo guitar and the bass player, as heretic it may sound, the second portion of the track whispers in my ear ..”..SAVATAGE”…

At the intro of “Nightshift” its turn for the drums and bass to stand out in a dynamic duo, that naturally takes us out of the more dismal atmosphere we plunged into couple of tracks ago. That one is an energizing rocker, the type definitely qualifies for a persistent presence in the live playlist of the band. There is something compelling here that creates natural engagement, something beyond singing along and banging like a crazy fanatic. “Tearing Down The Walls” sounds kind of a mixture of it all and it’s a track requiring several takes of listening before starting to decompose the artistic idea behind it. It’s like an almanac of everything we’ve heard so far – fast, heavy, oldschool, booming guitars, heavy drums, modern sound approach, power vocals – mixed in a complex, unconventional, even bizarre manner, that can never leave you bored and I can bet a cold pint you can find something new every time you run this on the stereo.  “Abyss Of Fear” brings to the final destination, putting the point of this tale. The song doesn’t shine with anything in particular, nevertheless is totally feels like an integral part of the release. For me it’s the most “disciplined” track on the album, lacking exuberant flamboyance. It just gets the job done and, oh man…the ending comes same as falling guillotine. 

CONCLUSION: People say to save the best for last, while IGNITED tend to be exactly to opposite to that perception. If you take the couple of initial tracks, one would immediately convert in a  fan for life and proclaim the band for the indisputable modern day reincarnation of JUDAS PRIEST. My believe is that the guys are much more than that and along with the development of the album, many more potential directions get outlined that don’t need to push back the band in the classic heavy metal drawer. With time they have to further define their own style and approach, to understand better their artistic ethos and translate the long-established, almost dogmatic postulates of metal into gospel of their own. But definitely I am seeking to add this CD to my shelf and my gut feelings tells me I won’t regret it.

THENWOTHM Score: 9/10