Gothtober-1476 : "In Exile"

 I went into this album expecting neo-folk, but it lashes with a more tormented punk energy. What happens on this album is dark enough to belong here, though they do not decorate anything for Halloween with that sort of imagery. They get blasty at the peak of their dynamic outbursts but retain a rambling Cult of Youth rowdiness. There are a great deal of sonic textures and vocal colors to this. At times it draws from metal at the more powerful end of their aggressive outbursts. Not unlike Final Gasp, they blend an array of genres, thought at their core it feels like these guys are punk band. The band themselves call this "wayward occult rock". The second song suggests that my inclination to think of these guys as a punk band was correct. 

There is a return to a more dynamic ebb and flow as the album progresses. The folky strum of guitars is juxtaposed by the more punk snarl of the vocals. "Jade Fire a Paragon" has a more flowing folk feel that builds into rock power chords. I can hear New Model Army influence in their sound. They move in the direction of bardic folk from the middle ages then swing into more frolicking punk. This is allowed to build into a more furious storm that rages before dropping back down, which is an excellent display of dynamic songwriting. They are not afraid of the atmosphere but prefer to keep things moving. "May Mountains Never Fall" is a good example of the balance they reach with this.  The more melodic moments like "Where Kings Fall" further New Model Army comparisons. As a big New Model Army fan I am fine with this since they are not very active these days. 

The powerful juxtaposition of melody and thundering power is found again on "A Queen in Exile" .  The broad range covered on the album makes it a unique listen as they can drop the more aggressive tones to just bask in the folk moments. This makes it when they do rock out in a straight forward manner for other songs bear more impact. "Where Are You?" is a more flowing delicate groove into seaside vistas. I will round this album up to a 10 despite not hiding their influences as cleverly as they think they are, the execution, passion, and way the sonic choices are woven together serve pretty stellar songwriting.