ALBUM REVIEW: Queen of Swords – Crestfallen Queen

All bands have to start somewhere, and for Germany’s CRESTFALLEN QUEEN, that time is now. Formed in Stuttgart in 2016, the quintet are well-versed in the unorthodox and mysterious; they released a demo entitled No More Let Life Divide What Death Can Join Together in February last year which was analogue produced and only available on cassette. Now, the band – whose members are only known by a single letter each – have produced Queen of Swords, available in a more conventional manner of all known platforms and coming to the world later this month via Church Within Records.

Unconventional is certainly a word to describe Queen Of Swords, which will probably delight the band as that’s what they were aiming for in the first place. Of the six tracks present, four are between seven and ten minutes long, one is under three and the last is a mere twenty-two second interlude. It wrong-foots you right from the start as well – Umbra is an ominous and brooding opening with whispered chanting and building nicely, but instead of flowing straight into the title track that follows, it fades out to signify its place as a standalone song. What’s unfortunate is that instead of piquing the listener’s interest, it comes across as a misstep and a bit of a letdown.

Equally as misfiring is the title track; like Umbra, it starts well with a BLACK SABBATH-esque riff progressing into a galloping triplet that IRON MAIDEN made so famous, but the vocals from singer K are too low in the mix and whilst her screams are impressive, they clash with the music at hand and come across as jarring. Additionally, the production feels threadbare, which might not have been a bad thing given that the band are very influenced by the prog scene of the seventies, but if it had been more fuller the throwback experience would have been far better. Thankfully, Eurydice’s Lullaby is better, softer guitars and strings developing into full blown melodic prog doom that showcase guitarist G and drummer A in a very good light.

After the previously mentioned interlude – entitled Invocation, for the record – Ghost Warriors charges full throttle into view and finally allows CRESTFALLEN QUEEN to show off their potential to the full. It’s much better in quality, both musically and lyrically, a classic downtrodden metal track that saunters through different movements and styles with both grace and panache – G is once again on hand to deliver a thumping guitar solo and the curve-ball which didn’t work at the beginning is pulled off well this time; the final ninety seconds are completely different in tone and a nice surprise. To finish is Lethean Bed, a much slower number that has good structure and pace, but like earlier the screamed vocals feel out of place, particularly when they begin so distant and haunting.

One of CRESTFALLEN QUEEN‘s aims for Queen Of Swords was to tell stories of fallen heroines and their struggles with a multitude of personal aspects, from love to drugs and self-empowerment. If the women in question had been alive today, they would have grimaced at points but smiled at the record as a whole. It’s solid and shows real potential in places, but a little bit of production work and consistency will serve them better on the next release.

Rating: 6/10

Queen Of Swords is set for release May 25th via Church Within Records. 

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