Formed in France during the summer of 2017, NEMEDIAN CHRONICLES combine the epic side of heavy and power metal, inspired by sword & sorcery themes and Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age. The debut full-length “The Savage Sword” includes 12 tracks and 70 minutes of Cimmerian power metal influenced by Manowar, Blind Guardian and HammerFall. But this is not all, since NEMEDIAN CHRONICLES are also influenced by composers such as Ennio Morricone or Basil Poledouris giving a cinematic touch in their epic concept.
The album was produced by NEMEDIAN CHRONICLES and Patric Guiraud. Music and lyrics written by Guillaume Lefebvre. Cover art by Mario Lopez (Crystal Viper, Evil Invaders, Heavy Load).
LINE-UP
Alexandre Duffau – Vocals, Orchestral Arrangements, Additional Guitars.
David Royer – Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Thomas Teissedre – Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Guillaume Lefebvre – Bass
Guillaume Rodriguez – Drums
REVIEW
From the moment that I saw the album cover posted on No Remorse Records Facebook page, I knew that I’d be in for something right in my wheelhouse. Epic metal inspired by the mythology of Conan the Barbarian (and really just dark/epic fantasy in general). NEMEDIAN CHRONICLES hails from Toulouse in Occitanie, France, not typically a place where this variety of metal arises, which only added to my curiosity.
I won’t waste time gushing about how awesome the album art is, just look at it!! The band’s logo is spectacular as well, the way the N’s become snakes is just *chef’s kiss*.
We begin things with the eponymous “Nemedian Chronicles”, a near 3 minute intro track that kicks off with some booming war drums and exquisite violin. Seriously we need more classical instruments in metal. The epicness was off the charts here, like glorious battle music in a climactic final fight in a film. A thunderous voice recites a spoken word, telling some of the story of the world of Conan (the Barbarian, not O’Brian).
After the introduction, our first proper track was “Born on a Battlefield”. Dulcetly melancholic keyboards begin things before we’re given our first taste of the vocal stylings of Duffau. Even just this early in the album, I was really feeling the groove of it all. It’s very BLIND GUARDIAN, but still different enough to stand on its own, and it’s gloriously grandiose in scope. Credit as well to the female backing vocalist, she had a magnificent voice. Great power chord at near the 2:40 mark that only enhanced the sheer virtuosity on display here. Beautiful solo at the 3:50, nothing too flashy, but one that melds in stunningly with the mood and flow of the track itself. A reprise of that solo fades us out.
Our third track was “Venarium”, and right away was much more upbeat and speed metal adjacent that the previous track. In terms of BLIND GUARDIAN albums, it’s more Battalions of Fear than Nightfall in Middle-Earth. Despite that uptick in tempo, the song doesn’t hinder the epic nature of the earlier tracks, flowing it together in such a way that could only elicit a smile. This was the type of song, and album thus far, that I just had to shut my eyes while the music was playing and watch the story unfold in my mind. Their cinematic influences are on full view, it’s just glorious.
“The Thing in the Crypt” followed suit, and began with a gnarly riff that routinely returned throughout the song. Duffau’s vocals are sure to be a treat for anyone who enjoy the stylings of BLIND GUARDIAN’s Hansi Kursch. The song is much faster than the last one, borderline thrash metal, an absolute blitz of power riffing and cinematic lyrical and instrumental delivery. Great double-bass drumming sequence at 3:20 too, and another extraordinary solo followed not long after.
Our 5th track, the over 9-minute long “Tower of the Elephant”, started slowly with some grooving basslines, sounding the charge for the main riff of the song. It’s a more mid-tempo song that the last two. What I love about the vocals in particular are the way Duffau takes care of pronunciation and tells a story through his vocals, that type of stuff always gets me. Another great riff at 4:20 that kicked the track into high gear, literally, as the pounding drums and thumping bass lead a charge like the finest cavalry. A reprieve of Duffau’s spoken word that was accompanied nicely by some great arrangements behind him, added nicely to the gravitas of the song.
The final track on the first half of the record, “Tigress of the Black Coast” kicked off with thumping bass that reminded me of Steve Harris’ work from IRON MAIDEN. Right at the minute mark, the song took it to the next gear, the vocal delivery here was so immensely powerful. This song was definitely the one where bassist Lefebvre got show off his talents the most thus far.
Our second half begins with the title track “The Savage Sword”, and once more the epic-scope of this record is on full display from the very beginning, with more great riffs, accompanied by some orchestral background chanting, to kick things off. Speaking of orchestral, there’s a marvelous little interlude in this track that seriously evoked images of a conductor leading a symphony.
Next up was “Monsterslayer”, and yet more solid riffs ushered in the most HAMMERFALL sounding track to date, though I am admittedly not overly familiar with them. It’s a bit more of a commercial sounding track, which I don’t believe is a hindrance in the slightest.
“Black Lotus/The Curse of Thog” was next up, some brief Middle-Eastern folk instruments begin the track, before a hard n heavy riff takes center stage. Though throughout, the guitars do keep that Middle-Eastern flair to them in their tones and notes. Crusher of a riff at 1:45, followed by another great one at 2:00. Good stuff all around here. The ME folk has a reprise in the middle of the track, before NEMEDIAN CHRONICLES decided to thrash it up. This was an instrumental piece wherein the entire band got a chance to shine and show their chops. Love that riff at 4:35!
After that was “Stygian Sons of Set”, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit of RUNNING WILD in the opening riff salvo. Admittedly, this one didn’t have the hold on me that the rest of the album had up until this point, but I still couldn’t deny the excellent musicianship on display from beginning to end.
Our penultimate track was “The Song of Red Sonja”, and an acoustic ensemble begins things, backed up nicely by some ethereal chanting. A booming voice calls for the woman with red hair as the band unleashes their mettle once more. The bass here is an absolute stampede of fury and power, and NEMEDIAN CHRONICLES turned up the “epic” meter to 11. The guitar solo near the end was superb, probably my favorite on the entire album so far, but we’ve still got one last song to go.
Finally, we come to “Road of the Kings”, a piano ushers in the track before Duffau comes in with his excellent pipes. This is very much a ballad in the vein of BLIND GUARDIAN’s “The Bard’s Song”. All told, this track was an appropriately epic finale to a great album. Booming drums close us out, as well as possibly teasing what comes next.
CONCLUSION
What a treat this was! Epic metal is fast becoming one of my favorite subgenres, and NEMEDIAN CHRONICLES are rife with talent and potential. I’m eagerly looking forward to what they do next. My only real gripes are that the album is a bit long at 70 minutes, and you’ve almost got to be a BLIND GUARDIAN fan to really enjoy it. But, who isn’t a BLIND GUARDIAN fan?
TheNWOTHM Score: 9/10
!!PRE-ORDER!!
The Nwothm 
Leave a comment