Gates of Hell Records, will release Phaëthon’s debut album, ‘Wielder of the Steel’ on the 30^th August 2024. This is 8 tracks of undiluted epic heavy metal with a satisfying nod to a pantheon of metal greats that will leave you with both metalfists held high in the air; one in triumph, one raging against the gods.

Hailing from London and formed in 2020, Phaëthon have steadily risen through the metal underworld. With the DIY release of Sacrifice Doth Call, latterly re-released through Gates of Hell in 2021 and followed by a limited run of the ‘Eternal Hammerer’ demo on cassette in 2023, ‘Wielder of Steel’ sees the band re-record some of those early tracks on their first full release.

A crucial point to begin with, is the sound captured on Wielder. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Tom Dring at The Arch Recording Studios over the summer of 2023, he has created a truly epic soundscape bringing together drums, bass and guitars. This creates an authentic feel and in stark contrast to an overreliance on programmed sounds and digital orchestration to achieve an epic feel; something which can come across as lazy and happens far too often for my liking. Where Phaëthon do use programmed sounds sparingly it only adds and not detracts from the music.

An assortment of influences are drawn from the past by the band and forged to create an inventive approach to traditional epic heavy. The band transpose between, doom, speed and black metal influences throughout the album, to create an exceptionally enjoyable listening experience that warrants repeated listens to appreciate the album in full. Over several weeks of listening, components of Mercyful Fate, Manowar, Bathory, early Running Wild, Manilla Road, Reverend Bizarre, Candlemass and Cirith Ungol begin to shine through, but never seeking to clone. Vocally Vrath (guitars and vocals) delivers spoken word sections building the narrative to draw in the listener, whilst moving between clean vocals and almost black metal screams, delivering an epic performance complimenting the overall sound.

Review

Opening track Eternal Hammer, is a fast, raw and unrelenting dive into the tale of Ilmarinen, the unlucky in love blacksmith and god from Finnish mythology. If you were expecting an extended epic to kick things off you were wrong and I applaud Phaëthon for the unexpected blast of speed metal. A short interlude of gentle guitar and the distant sound of approaching chargers, gives way to that quintessential metal gallop as Vanguard of the Emperor, the first full blooded epic begins. A recounting of Byzantine and Ottoman military clashes, is brought to life with a memorable spoken word mid section, bookended by crushing riffs and melodic soloing.

The next short song, longer song combination brings The Greater Good of Evil and Tolls of Perdition. The former, a tale of crusading knights and the temptation of devil brings a rousing sing-along chorus and some of the album’s most blackened moments, the later opens with a simple bass track and bird song, soon gives way to a majestic and poetic spoken word tell a tale (Vrath even manages to melodically rhyme inflections and deceptions), is most reminiscent of a Reverend Bizarre biblical epic.

Blasphemers, Forgotten Gods and then Phaëthon Must Fall follow in succession in quick succession, cramming so many riffs and epic moments into these songs, it’s surprising they run for only a combined 12 minutes. Blasphemers opens with some epic riffing and commanding drumming building into a neck snapping twin guitar speed metal riff. Both influences combine to form sequences of excellent riffing driven forward by Oskarath on drums. Forgotten Gods, feels like viking-era Bathory and an extra shot of Manowar thrown in for good measure. Crunching riffs, anthemic chorus and even a key change, what is not to love about this! Phaëthon Must Fall feels like an album closer, intricate riffing solid drumming and another inspiring chorus, this tale of Greek tradjedy has it all, Phaëthon recant this tale ferociously “by the bolts of the thunder God let it be known to all that no mortal can match the power of the Gods!”

Pleasantly surprised to hear more after Phaëthon Must Fall, Wielder Of The Steel closes the album in true epic style, running at just under 10 minutes and covering everything that makes epic metal great. Brooding acoustic guitar introductions, lyrics of sorrow, melodic and heartfelt solos, the guitar playing of Decado and Vrath combines magnificently with the vocals to create choruses that will have your iron hands reaching for the steel in triumph.      

CONCLUSION

Wielder of Steel is a musical and lyrical tour de force of Epic Metal, all killer and no filler, creating a fresh take on that traditional sound from the early 80s and eschewing any reliance orchestration to create grandiosity. The instrumentation from all players is fantastic and the lyrics and vocal delivery from Vrath has left me wanting to know more of these epic tales! I urge anyone with a love of epic and traditional metal to get hold of this immediately upon release, you will not be dissapointed! I am already looking forward to hearing more and hoping there may be live shows to follow the release later in the year.