#6 - Top of 2017

Sons of Crom - The Black Tower (Nordvis)

The black tower is an amazing epic heavy metal album brought to us by the extraordinary duo Iiro Sarkki (in vocals and drums) and Janne Posti (in vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), who go by the name "Sons of Crom". The record is split into two sections with 4 songs each, and although it goes only slightly over 40 minutes, it is filled with memorable and extremely diverse tracks! "Steps of Doom" is a very interesting intro song which sounds like it is taken from a fantasy movie or game and sets an epic tone for an adventure. "In Fire Reborn" is another epic song with some intense vocal lines that blend seamlessly with imposing choral parts.  The riff-based "Fall of Pandemonium" (with its awesome guitar and violin melodic lines) and the melodic "Legacy" (with a great accoustic guitar background blending with some stunning and powerful vocals) finish off the first half of the album. The second part is equally epic with the Bathoresque  "Black Wings Up High", the galloping "Summoning the Starborn" which picks-up the rhythm without losing in terms of heaviness and the amazing "Viimeinen Laki", which is the only track in Finnish, but evokes an emotional response regardless of the understanding of the lyrics! "Rebirth of the Sun" is a great instrumental tune that is filled with sorrowful violin tunes and closes a very interesting and unique (for today's standards) release. And to paraphrase a black-haired bare-chested fellow "By this axe they rule"!

95.8/100

Below is the audio track for the song "Black Wings Up High".