Release date: 19 September, 2025

SÖLICITÖR are bringing forth their sophomore studio album of classic 80s style speed metal fury. Ten songs of haunting, powerful and destructive metal mania. Five years have passed since “Spectral Devastation”, SÖLICITÖR’s debut LP was unleashed. Now they are back with a bang. More leather-bound, more aggressive, more powerful and more metal than ever. From the powerful riffing and impressive drum work to the evocative vocals; it won’t take you long to fall in love with the classic and authentic sound of this new offering. Mixing heavy, speed and even some thrash metal elements to achieve a unique sound of powerful metallic excellence, none shall be spared on this ferocious new opus.Fans will notice the more dynamic, emotive and varied approach on this album that still retains all of the power and fury of their previous efforts.

The band took a more DIY approach to the actual recording while re-amping, mixing and mastering was done by Chris Mannino to truly bring the electrifying takes to life. Speaking of DIY, the band’s vocalist Amy handled the artwork for this release, ensuring the bands vision was appropriately represented. The band put this into words best: This album was built on blood, sweat and struggle, personal catastrophes and triumphs, division and uncertainty – ultimately pulled together by dedication to a long term vision and determination above all odds to deliver performances that will surely outlast our previous offerings. We believe in the integrity of these songs, as a representation of our evolution and arrival to this point. This album is darker, more melodic, much more expressive, personal, and may take some by surprise for better or worse. Themes of the paranormal, revenge and retribution, betrayal, and a steadfast commitment to heavy metal and all that has come before us as we continue to pursue and mark our place in a drastically different and ever changing landscape.

Line-Up
Amy Lee Carlson: Vocals
Matt Vogan: Guitars/Keys
Patrick Fry: Guitars
Johann Waymire: Drums
Damon Cleary-Erickson: Bass

Review

The album opens with “The Descent”, a slow building moody instrumental that oddly reminded me a lot of old school horror movie scores. As with many album intros, this track is just that – an introduction. It also automatically scores points for sharing its title with one of my favorite horror films.

Following that was the speed metal onslaught of “Paralysis” which boasted a nice combo of melody and technicality. Carlson’s vocals throughout reminded me of Leather Leone of Chastain, as well as someone else that I failed to recognize by name (Ann Boleyn of Hellion maybe). Still her vocal style felt natural and was a wonderful breath of fresh air compared to the more often higher-pitched vocals we get from other singers in speed metal. There wasn’t a moment to waste throughout what was a brisk 5 minute track, and Sölicitör made the most of every second. While chock full of excellent riffs, it was really the drumming of Johann Waymire that stole the show for me.

“Iron Wolves of War” reminded me a bit of the recent Midnight Force offering, and that’s a good thing. Chock full of great riffs, in particular an absolute monster around the two-minute mark that was impossible not to headbang along to. The guitar tandem of Fry and Vogan busted out a slick frenetic facemelter of a solo. The addition of harsher vocals from Carlson near the end really brought this one to another level. Some wolves howl along with the crackling of flames to end the track with a nice outdoorsy ambiance. I appreciated a lot that this one had a larger platform for the guitarwork to take center stage with that aforementioned solo and the gnarly as hell riffage.

A slow-burn introduction begins “Spellbound Mist” before a really sick riff kicks it into high gear. Right as Carlson’s vocals began, I was reminded of the vocal talents of Sarah from Smoulder. Once again though, Waymire’s drumming is on fire! The repeated space-out bursts of blast beats just add a layer of such ferocity to the track. Bassist Cleary-Erickson gets a moment to shine as well with a quick little bass solo, before the bass kicks up into a gallop for a… spell (sorry). Overall, this one turns the tempo down a bit into something pretty close to doomy, and I think it works wonders. If anything it helps the song stand out from the rest of the album thus far.

Opening with a fade in a la “Hit the Lights”, “We Who Remain” simply never stopped. It was full-on balls to the wall speed metal, and I love that. Now in contrast to that quickened onslaught, Carlson’s vocals here were strangely more melodic in a way that gave the track a sort of depth not typically found in modern speed metal. I was also pleased that the bass gallop returned from the previous song, as an Iron Maiden fanboy, I’ll always appreciate a good gallop. What really pushes this one over the edge though is surely the little almost monologic verse at the end from Carlson, just great stuff.

“Fallen Angel” opened with a bassline that I can only describe as sexy, because it was so damn good. While the bass was a serious standout throughout, with Cleary-Erickson delivering some real gems across the runtime, I felt like the vocals took a bit of a backseat. I don’t think that’s inherently a con by any means, as different songs cater to different folks, and that’s okay. Building on that, I also didn’t really hear any truly ear-catching riffs throughout. All of that being said, I would say that, for me, this was the weakest track thus far.

“Crimson Battle Beast” stormed out of the gate with blistering speed, and a flourish of guitar prowess before Carlson’s vocals took over. In this one her vocals once more took center-stage, and the melody of her voice during the chorus was intoxicating in all the best ways. Moreover, this one also featured a truly gnarly guitar solo that sealed the deal on a good song for me. Very much a polar opposite of the previous track, which I think showcases Sölicitör’s versatility as a band.

“Enemy in Mirrors” featured an almost dissonant opening, eventually broken up by some truly disgusting basslines (that’s a good thing). Carlson’s vocals had a certain ferocity to them in this one that I wasn’t picking up on in other tracks. Overall, this track was more aggressive than much of the others, featuring some bursts of blast beats and the aforementioned basslines. It all tied together very well with the opening, in my opinion. Definitely a great track with a different feel than the others.

“Black Magick and the Devil’s Hand Part 1” took its time, in a good way, before Carlson belted out one hell of a call to battle. There was a certain evilness behind the chords in this one, something that many songs try to evoke but can’t get quite right, this one definitely achieves it. Speed metal wasn’t quite the focus for this, as the song featured a more slow-to-mid-tempo groove to it throughout. If there’s one thing that is a drawback for this one, and I’m reaching here, it’s that the song definitely feels like the first part of something. When listened in conjunction with part 2, obviously you get the complete picture, but in isolation it can feel a bit… well, isolated. Note: According to the file name for the promo package, this is the “Black Magick” portion.

“Black Magick and the Devil’s Hand Part 2” kicked off the final track with a killer riff and some juicy basslines, before Carlson screamed out to usher in a barrage of speed metal goodness. Though there was the return of those slower bits that did a wonderful job breaking up the speed. When I first saw that the final two tracks were ‘parts 1 and 2’, it obviously made me go “Well, why didn’t they just make it one big track?”, and truthfully, they don’t need to be. The pair of them are so different that, while they are still two parts to one whole thing, they needed to be apart to stand on their own.

Conclusion

Second albums are tricky and often just as, if not more, important than a band’s debut record. Questions often arise like; “Were they a flash-in-the-pan? Did their second album blow the first out of the water?” So on so forth. Sölicitör’s sophomore outing is just as strong as their debut, “Spectral Devastation,” and made me want to revisit that one sooner than later. While still speed metal overall, “Enemy in Mirrors” features a certain amount of little variety nuggets to spice things up a bit

TheNwothm Score: 8.5/10

Links

Bandcamp: https://solicitor-speedmetal.bandcamp.com/releases

Facebook: https://facebook.com/solicitor.speedmetal/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solicitor.speedmetal/

Label: Cruz Del Sur