When the Echoes and Dust writers voted Blood Incantation’s epic Absolute Elsewhere as their album of the year a slightly bemused Editor asked if we were sure. That album opened up a gateway for me to absorb death metal when it would previously have been a genre I’d hide from. Also hailing from Denver Colorado, Dreadnought are a new name to me, but their heady mix of styles, encompassing death and progressive metal doesn’t seem so off putting thanks to the Blood Brothers. For their sixth album Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light, the band worked with Julius Mauranen (Oranssi Puzazu) to create something pretty special.
On the opening track ‘Tiamat’s Gate’, Kelly Schilling’s vocals soar with a stunning splendour, bordering on operatic over a shimmering prog rock backdrop of synths and clean guitars. The switch to blast beats and a blackened howl from guitarist Ryan Sims happens swiftly but smoothly, as waves of heavy guitars wreak havoc. There’s a medieval atmospheric to the middle passage as the band flex their musical prowess. The calm becomes displaced with full-on death metal fury, yet it all flows seamlessly. When the song ends with a beautiful fade of piano and strings it’s a blissful way to end the opening journey of sound. ‘The Archive’ wastes no time ripping straight to the hard riffs and pounding drums before sliding into a pool of serene waters. What happens next is hard to describe as a chaotic fusion of styles leap out of the speakers, yet it’s all thoroughly compelling. The band seem determined to throw everything they have into the mix.
There’s an epic grandeur to ‘Colors of Our Broken Hearts’ as sweeping strings and waves of distorted guitars pave the way for Kelly to soar with a spectacular melody. We go cosmic for a passage of spoken word over chugging riffs, before shifting into hyperspace with a flurry of blast beats, courtesy of Jordan Clancy. ‘Serpents of the Moon’ opens with a jazzy passage of clean guitars and dexterous percussion, Kelly’s vocals are delicate and soothing. The build up to the black metallic finale is gradual and rewarding when it finally erupts. What I didn’t expect to hear is some jungle style beats thrown into the mix for good measure!
‘Aeonwar’ judders and shakes over piston pop beats and a heavy bass groove from Kevin Handlon. Then it dramatically jumps to a scathing crusty bridge before hurtling straight into a gloriously epic chorus. Around the middle of the song things get wildly chaotic as a myriad of styles will have you dazed and confused. The final moments are stunning as elegant strings and piano merge with Kelly’s mesmerising siren call. The wondrously progtastic naming of ‘The Twilight Protectorate’ has a lot to live up to and does so with a twitchy riff and folk-tinged melody. There’s an over-the-top spinning synth solo last heard noodling away in Absolute Elsewhere. With a mighty howl, the song erupts into a black metal passage before teleporting into another spacey realm, Kelly almost sounds childlike with a kooky melody. Finally, the song ends with scorching guitars, blast beats and folky flutes and you feel like you’ve just been on one hell of a journey.
So, does this album match the modern classic from Blood Incantation? Not quite, but in terms of vision and depth, there are close comparisons. Fusing so many styles in such an effortless way takes great musical skill and dexterity. In Kelly Schilling, they have a compelling singer/guitarist/synth player who brings stunning melodies and links the whole thing together superbly. Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light is a beguiling and richly rewarding listen which traverses a multitude of genres.
