Release date: Out Now!
Label:Independent
Dagger is a Canadian band freshly formed in 2025, but made up of musicians who have been around the scene for a long time, taking part in projects that span doom, sludge, hard rock and heavy metal. This swirl of influences is present from the first chord to the last hit on the snare, with a debut album, The First Cuts, that sounds powerful, full of swing, and shaped by influences that trace back mainly to the glorious 70s and 80s, years in which the metal scene was diverse and drew openly from blues, rock and roll and psychedelia.
Review
Midnight Falcon is the most eighties-driven track on the album, with a rhythmic phrasing that strongly recalls Scorpions’ Rock You Like a Hurricane. Jakob Weel’s voice is melodic and pitch-perfect, with good body and a raspy upper register that makes it clear from the first minute that his voice will be Dagger’s best ingredient. The drums keep things simple, laying down a firm pulse without overusing fills, and stand out in the final stretch with a more dynamic section that pairs beautifully with the guitars’ rhythmic pull-offs, finishing with chromatic, funereal-sounding chords.
We move quickly into a sentimental-leaning ballad with Heathens. This gives us an early clue that the record plays with different densities. It does not rush to reveal all its secrets and instead unfolds calmly, song by song. Power chords break through the clean guitars, guided by a slow and deliberate tempo, decorated with martial-style rolls that reinforce the weight of the strings. It is a dark composition with two clear halves. The first one is calm and shadowy, and the second shifts completely into a low-tuned rock and roll feel. The bass lines are simple and repetitive, adding weight to the song’s rhythmic power. The voice adapts to the dense, desperate atmosphere, opening new vocal textures that show just how talented Jakob truly is.
An intro with harmonica that pays tribute to Black Sabbath’s The Wizard leads us straight into the other centerpiece, Wizard Rock, built on heavy sequences that revive the spirit of classic hard rock bands like Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin, yet bathed in a distorted, grainy evil delivered through low tunings. The solos do not aim for virtuosity or speed. They work in service of the song, adding melodic layers that reinforce the destructive forward motion of the rhythm section, the true host of this metal feast.
Graveyard Witch moves in a line close to Zeppelin’s Black Dog or even the more eighties-leaning tracks of Judas Priest. It is a fully danceable song, charged with malice in its writing, and built on fast chords and dramatic pauses. Drummer Penny Jo Buckner holds the pulse with authority, focusing on hitting hard without adding complicated fills or rhythms that would clash with the band’s identity. A strong workhorse of the album, and a perfect track if you want to show why the band carries late-70s hard rock running through its veins.
Live With Ghosts opens with a gong and draws directly from Iron Maiden’s instrumentals, using single-string palm-mute bursts, twin guitars and more intricate solos that still keep one foot in the blues, with sustained notes and scales played with more emotion than speed. The swing in the drum performance is the highlight here, especially in the final stretches with slightly muted chords and coordinated pick attacks. Another strong track that can easily appeal both to early rock fans and to listeners of more forward-leaning metal. It is a song almost impossible to dislike.
Behind the Walls Sleep? No. Behind the Veiled Ones. Built on psychedelic passages and deep, spiraling bass lines that nod directly to the Birmingham quartet, the piece creates an uncanny, slowly enveloping atmosphere. It is a long-form song in the spirit of Iron Butterfly, almost nine minutes of dense, heavy architecture. Repetitive without becoming single-minded, slow without drifting into boredom, and carried by vocal lines that move from whispers to unhinged cries. The track progresses from a slow, dragging melody into heavier sections with plenty of groove.
Conclusion
The First Cuts is a debut that understands exactly where it comes from and where it wants to go. It does not pretend to reinvent the wheel, but it does refine it with conviction, taste and a deep understanding of the traditions it embraces. The mix of heavy metal, hard rock and blues-driven phrasing feels natural, never forced, and every track displays a band confident in its craft, with a vocalist who stands out from the first second and a rhythm section that knows how to push without overwhelming. Dagger arrives fully formed, aware of its lineage and ready to carve its own space. For a first record, this is a remarkably solid statement.
TheNwothm Score: 8.5/10
Links
Bandcamp:https://dagger-666.bandcamp.com/album/the-first-cuts
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/dagger_666_
The Nwothm 
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