Unleash the Archers

I think I saw these guys in the fem-fronted thread (sorry it's a helluva lot to scroll through), but damn does their new album, Apex, have my heart. Meat-n-potatoes classic metal and the chick has some ridiculous dynamics. Great mix for a modern release too (a bit more quiet than I'm used to; perhaps higher DR?).

I like them in small doses but they get very samey.

I just received Apex in the mail. Will give it a spin during the weekend.

They are pretty awesome!

Damn damn damn. Didn't know I needed female-fronted power metal in my life. This is killer, as is that Unlucky Morpheus song that Boris posted in the other thread.

Great band!!

Not mah thang...

Not bad but I don't think it's something I'd run out and get right away. There are too many other things on the want list that I'd pull the trigger on first.

So UtA's latest album Apex has my heart lol. This is just a fun, fun, fun album with some of the most dynamic songwriting I've heard from a contemporary power metal band (they also have a lot of classic and blackened/death elements as well). But I didn't reach that appreciation until I began reading the lyrics, something I rarely do with any band. Turns out Apex is a sprawling concept album with a rather engrossing story about a cursed bounty hunter faced to complete a violent task for an evil sorceress. What's cool--and I saw an interview where frontwoman Brittany Hayes confirms this--is that they wrote the music to fit the shifting moods and tone of the story and character dynamics. It's a damn interesting way to write a metal album, and the story actually improves the momentum of the music. Because of this, I have nearly every song burned in my brain. Just emotionally dynamic and intelligent.

And they're sick musicians as well, incorporating a jazz bassist with style (who sadly left after the album dropped):



On a side note, I've become a big fan of these fly-on-the-wall studio videos. Absolute happiness if that turns out being a marketing standard at some point.

Bump for Toho. Ignore everything I posted here except for the last video right above. I like how her voice is more inspired by, say, Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson. I'd like to hear more vocalists like her (Brittany Hayes/Slays).

Be sure to hear the whole thing to get the full impact of her range. This is also especially true of the "Cleanse the Bloodlines" clip posted at the top. Wow. That track makes me sweat.

Found out they had a secret show coming in Fresno, went to it, was beyond any spectacle I've ever witnessed, even got to sing in the mic, new album coming this Summer, they played a new song, was killer, this band is the future of heavy metal, remember I said that ten years from now for better or worse, please go listen to their album Apex (forget the others for now) from start to finish, preferably twice, hopefully you can see what I mean, photos of the concert to come soon, I'm tired, going to bed, night.