Release date: Out now!
At the foot of the Pikes Peak in Colorado, CHAMBER MAGE emerged with the Spring melt in 2021 and spent the next few years at the edge of the Rocky Mountains furiously honing a deadly heavy metal craft inspired by a mixture of early European power metal, the NWOBHM, and the deadliest of United States power metal to create their own unique sound. 2022 brought a well-received demo which launched a series of shows that would take them across the years as they continued writing, both supporting classic groups such as Thor and Riot as well as newer legends in the making like Solicitor and Castle Rat.
These years of cutting their teeth and sharpening their edge led to festival dates at celebrated American events such as Legions Of Metal, Frozen In Time, and Stormbringer, with an upcoming appearance at Hell’s Heroes confirming what the band’s road-won fans already know: CHAMBER MAGE is the real deal.
Review
I love discovering new metal bands from across the world, and when an unfamiliar name lands in the editorial inbox, I get a good portion of goosebumps wondering what these guys have to offer. The band name is the primary hint, next to album title and cover of course, yet as they say – let’s not judge an artistic creation by superficial features and instead trust our innate gut feeling. With CHAMBER MAGE, the drill was no different. Knowing nothing about this US outfit, I invite you to embark on an adventurous journey, guided “By Light of Emerald Gods.”
Clashing steel, war cries, and chaos of pounding armor throw us right “In Battle,” complemented by a few bars of operatic-style opener blended with juicy bass to punctuate it. A full reset and a pizzicato guitar riff tips the real deal, drums following soon enough, and there we go – first sample of vocal presence by Avery Berg, and boy, does his style scream and shout “MANILLA ROAD”! After the initial frontal charge, the song slows down in hymnic manner, where the group “wooooooh” chanting becomes the predominant ornament, gracefully backed by a masterful guitar lick beneath. Short in duration, yet nothing short of exciting, and I’m really hyped to consume more of what these guys have up their sleeve.
“Blades on the Rampart” comes in with a groovy mood, rapidly transforming into steadily galloping riffage and more of this classic vocal blend, so smooth and elegant that it makes you desire more and more. To amplify the sensation of riding on, the drums in this one are notably put forward, in no way artificially annoying, keeping the structure steadfast, enduring from start to finish effortlessly. In general, the overall feeling of this composition is of a smoothly flowing river of prowess and metal mastery. Lyrics and musical passages fall right into place, and as the storyline develops, the listener becomes fully consumed. The first chorus comes with fist-pumping back vocal shoutouts that make your skin crawl, and only slowing down with the interlude around the 4-minute mark saves us from going totally berserk! Getting back on the glorious path is easy and paves the way for the captivating solo that doesn’t shine, yet gets you hooked. The culmination comes with an altered version of the chorus, repeated twice, and here I am ready to jump from my chair and start banging around. There isn’t a single flaw in this piece, and even with six and a half minutes of duration, I regret it wasn’t longer!
Bar raised to sky-high level, “Bishop’s Vengeance” is about to be put to the test, and CHAMBER MAGE surely realized that when placing this one in third position on the playlist. By design, it’s totally diverse from its predecessor, and the introductory beats speak of a different beast here – agile, naughty, experimental to the edge of sounding even progressive, adding to the artistic palette, not taking away. After the panning riff, backed by a tom drum sequence, the song matures into a solid main motif, vocal narrative focusing the attention, and it’s the right time to acclaim the importance the band puts on the lyrical message for building momentum and wholeness. A shredding guitar solo throws us off balance, rushing around with razorblade sharpness, and to make us totally dumbfounded, the boys slam on the brakes, hitting us with the most out-of-place short bass intermezzo and a cappella singing to detonate the final chorus in our ears. Surprising, unconventional, and bold as hell!
Advancing further takes us “Beyond the Lighthouse,” directly into uncharted waters on a vessel of single kick and cymbal drumming, discharging series of open chords that finally escalate into anthemic riffage and proud vocal delivery. This composition feels basic, somewhat simplistic, nonetheless powerful and engaging, reaching its peak at the chorus with a wild call to command and conquer. Such musical frugality gets hundred percent justified when reaching solo time, when all the splendor of instrumental treasury is generously poured into our ears, and the intrepid duel between guitar and double kick drums feels like a natural stepping stone to the last chorus. The bag of tricks is far from empty, and almost a minute before closing, the track resorts to a gentle acoustic passage and pacifying chant, promoting a poetic outro.
Commencing the second half of the album with “To Spires Deep and Caverns High,” the longest title on the bill greets us with a slow-paced bombastic introduction for about 30 seconds, leading to the already familiar outburst of raw metal power. This track is supercharged with dynamism, changes of pace, and vivacious use of ornaments – the richest in flavors so far, and I’m talking about all the elements. Lead vocals dominate certain sections, stepping down in favor of the lead guitar, later surrendering to the rhythm riffing performance under nonstop drum battering. And when the solo lands exactly in the middle, everything goes head over heels. It’s so rare to encounter such mesmerizing synergy of guitar play, as if two independent parallel compositions are intertwined and harmonized to perfection while still sounding standalone. Certain quarrelsome critics might argue CHAMBER MAGE is just showing off out of egoistic motives; however, I would counter that talent is almost impossible to hide when you’re in such creative flow state. This bashing maelstrom finally resolves in a slow, jubilant group “oooooh-ing” before the band delivers the final power-speed portion and closes the deal in the most memorable manner. An absolute banger and smash-hit qualifier!
All of a sudden, we find ourselves in a dark, dangerous dungeon, shackles rattling, making us wonder about “The Length of the Chain.” Putting aside the impressive and descriptive ambient intro, I suspect there’s something deeply metaphoric about the title, a perception specially reinforced when you make a quick reference to the lyrics. Musically, the band doesn’t come up with something radically new, besides the quicker tempo on average and more streamlined singing that carries small touches of doom metal style – an intriguing contradiction to the dense and vibrant sound that prevails throughout the majority of the duration. And it’s a rather lengthy hymn, reaching 7 minutes in total, which invariably opens space for talented variations – from frantic ongoing repetition of the title to the skyrocketing solo and exalted final declamation to recap the amassed elation, all links of a strong-willed chain of valor. Worth admitting, we witness the darkest and perhaps most sorrowful point of the record, packed with a decent portion of pride that converts into character strength. The internal dialogue of the lyrical protagonist is easy to identify with and empathize with the burdening struggles of temptation.
Getting closer to the final milestone, we imperceptibly advance to the moment when “The Emerald Tower Revealed,” and since there is a noteworthy overlap in the “emerald” element, perhaps it won’t be an overstatement to consider this song as a sort of covert title track, kept safe till almost the last moment of the album. True or not, this assumption does not abolish the fact that we’re facing one more of those signature masterpieces of storytelling, crafted and refined by CHAMBER MAGE. Following the kick-off ethereal 90 seconds, the spirit gets boosted with the first chorus invited by energizing drums intervention, uplifting the tempo and charging the sound with beautiful bravado, sustained up to the 4-minute mark, swapped for a galloping style of guitar solo that shatters the flow, infusing roaming riffs to suffice the thirst for perfection.
The concluding track of the album is knocking at the door – “The Silver City Fell” is a nearly 11-minute “magnum opus” of epic magnitude, starting with a harmonized symbiosis of silver string acoustic guitar and melancholic cello, soon joined by balladic lead singing – all wrapped in slow, honorable marching tempo. I recognize this prelude and all the monotonous narration putting us in the middle of the lyrical plot as a skillful method of building mythology, inducing a vibe of theatrical experience, amassing thrill and tension for about three minutes and change. The much-awaited pivotal moment is heralded by a sudden squeal and panned riffage storming in, joined by artillery salvo drumming, completely transforming the ambience as we approach the core part of the composition. From that point onward, things get a bit unstructured with tons of twists and turns in both vocal and instrumental perspective, reinforcing the theatrical kaleidoscope in what appears to be a messy yet genuine manner of building things up. Bridges change to fast-paced solos and arpeggiated chord sections, rhythm slows down only to go ballistic seconds after, pacified singing morphs into relentless group singalong, making you lose grasp and comprehension of what’s going on – completely impossible to categorize as belonging to any single subgenre. Insanity and genius combined to pitch a next level of monumental bliss. The epilogue of this musical affair is highlighted by the anthemic verse and chorus that not only bring us back to ground but serve as the glorious epitome of this elegy, with all the passion, tragedy, hope, and despair that mark every great saga since the dawn of time. And when the final tunes of the outro melt away, I take a look at the two pages of lyrics and smile, while the echo of this symphony of metal enchantment still lingers in my head…
Conclusion
A definite discovery! In full disclosure, CHAMBER MAGE got me heavily hooked with the first pair of songs, and despite all the striking musical and vocal resemblance with linchpin figures and names from the heavy scene, I believe the band is doing the right thing, in the right way, and at the proper moment. I would argue we need more formations to be bold and assertive enough to stick to the roots, profess the tried and tested formulas of our beloved genre, translating them via their own creative prism and repackaging it all forward to ensure overall longevity and contribute to the future proceedings of the trad metal scene. The album as a whole is a mouthwatering delight, filled with earworms and standout bangers – some pure perfection, others could use a bit of refinement – however, we can’t be even slightly judgmental towards this debut. And to put my money where my mouth is, “By Light Of Emerald Gods” gets graduated with honors into my “to buy” list, and I recommend all of you do similar to support this colossal artistic accomplishment.
TheNwothm Score: 9/10
CHAMBER MAGE:
Avery Berg – vocals
Dan Nevin – drums
Devan Fechner – guitar
Jaden Knowles – guitar
Ted Jedlicki – bass
Links
Bandcamp:https://chambermage.bandcamp.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/chambermage
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/chambermage
The Nwothm 
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