Enter the Wild World of FLAMEKEEPER
Marco from FLAMEKEEPER reached out to us directly here at TheNWOTHM to give us a look at his band’s debut full-length album, after 2019’s “We Who Light the Fire”.
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Marco S.- Everything
REVIEW
The Metal Archives describe FLAMEKEEPER as “Epic heavy/power/black metal” and that’s just the perfect amount of genre bending that I love to see, and helped pique my interest in the album. But more than that, the runtime, a crisp and fast 30 minutes *chefs kiss*.
I’m basically a sucker for any album cover that’s not AI or that weird CGI stuff from the late 90s and early 00s (Looking at you IRON MAIDEN “Dance of Death”), and the classic painting route is one that always works for me. Even if I’m not sure of the specific work.
As for FLAMEKEEPER’s logo, we have a tale of two. The one on the album itself, a simple font that works for me, and hopes to let the music do the talking. And the more typical metal logo used on their previous EP, seen below, which I also enjoy, for that reason alone.
“New Wild World” had a wonderful epicness to it, and the deliver of the chorus was bestially infectious. Seriously, the vocals are intoxicating. There was also a great guitar sequence in the background that reminded me a bit of surf rock, of all things. This was one hell of an opening salvo, and it definitely hooked me.
“Flamekeeper” followed that banger of an opener with gusto. Another excellent venture of grandiose instruments and arrangements, coupled with some more glorious vocal work. But on top of that, there’s definitely a rawness to the sound that I really enjoy. It helps to give FLAMEKEEPER an edge. Also, we have a hat trick (Band has a self-titled song on a self-titled album).
“The Golden Spark” was the shortest track on the album at just shy of 3 minutes, but don’t let that fool you. Every second of this one was just as epic as the previous two tracks, and not a moment was wasted.
“Raise the Banner” was another great track, albeit one that I think is the weakest thus far. The title-drop of the chorus wore thin on me by about the halfway mark, but it continued until the end of the song. Despite that, the energy behind the song was infectious.
“Stray Yet Still Free” is how we’ll end the “first half” of the record, and boy did it start with a wonderful arrangement of strings. It was a more subdued affair, and the closest to a ballad so far on the album. That helped it to stand out a fair bit from what we’ve heard up to that point. The epicness beyond the instruments and the strange melancholy in the vocals, it reminded me of one of those post-battle hymns.
“Us and Them (The Song of the Voiceless)” had an almost bardic way in which the intro was delivered, reminding me of medieval tavern music (for some reason), but that’s a good thing. It followed the same formula as “Raise the Banner” to a degree, but I found this one to be more enjoyable of the two.
“Death, You’ll Tremble to Take Me”, which is in the running for most badass song title ever, followed. It’s the chorus that really sends this one over the edge of greatness, and the instruments along with it (particularly the drumming and guitar work). The final push of the song certainly earned the band’s “epic” moniker.
“As One With Light” was our next to last track, and like the previous, the chorus is really where it shines. I found myself wrapped up in Marco’s exquisite vocal work, and the layers built atop layers of instruments throughout. One hell of a guitar solo a bit before the 2:30 mark, short but sweet.
“The Roads of Rome” was a proper power ballad that vividly transported me back to Ancient Rome. What really made this track legendary however, had nothing to do with the lyrics or anything, but the stunning acoustic string sequence to end the song, and thus the album., Top marks for this one.
CONCLUSION
This was one heck of a journey through an album that was epic in scope and sound. With it coming it at barely over 30 minutes, no song felt like it overstayed its welcome. With that being said, I would really like to see what FLAMEKEEPER could do with a 6+ minute opus.
TheNWOTHM SCORE: 9/10
FLAMEKEEPER’s “Flamekeeper” released on 10 May, 2024
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The Nwothm 
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