ALBUM REVIEW: Entering The Abyss – Paladine

With their sophomore effort, Greek power metal outfit PALADINE are doubling down on the mix of heavy and harmonious power metal showcased on debut, Finding Solace. Follow-up Entering The Abyss is a solid platter of melodic metal that ably melds power metal bombast and earworm choruses with a pounding musical weight throughout, with PALADINE standing as relatively unique amongst their more light-hearted contemporaries.

First and foremost, like many of the best fantasy-inspired records before it, Entering The Abyss sees PALADINE tackle a concept album. Based around the Dragonlance saga, a media universe primarily built around Dungeons & Dragons campaign supplements and a series of supporting novels, PALADINE channel their clear passion for high fantasy and epic adventures into crafting a suitably grandiose sonic landscape.

In paying homage to the lofty ambitions of their source material, there are a number of areas where PALADINE excel musically. Taking the skeleton of Euro metal, PALADINE flesh out their sound with a much darker tone than typically found in the scene. The charismatic vocals of Nick Protonotarios deftly lead the charge here, his low voice striking a well-maintained balance between tuneful enough to deliver memorable melodies and gritty enough to ensure it carries the music’s bite. There are flashes of EVERGREY’s Tom S. Englund, with Protonotarios’ baritone pipes giving PALADINE a distinctively despondent tone. Choruses like the lilting War Of The Lance are made all the more effective thanks to Protonotarios’ melancholy delivery, whereas the SABATON-esque rallying cry of Sacrifice Of A Hero is dependent on his vocal venom.

The band’s bleaker sound isn’t limited to just vocals however, with the rest of the PALADINE providing plenty of musical heft to ensure that Entering The Abyss carries weight throughout. The title track demonstrates this perfectly, its rousing chorus punctuated by winding spirals of guitar riffs before introducing a heavy breakdown and cataclysmic guitar solo that feels like an evil version of RHAPSODY OF FIRE. Hourglass taps into a similarly heavy vein; driven by fiery fast guitar lines and aggressively spat vocals, the typically catchy chorus feels incredibly punchy thanks to the unrelenting kick drums of Mpampis Tsolakis. Indeed, Tsolakis’s lightning-fast feet provide the album with an ever-growing sense of momentum throughout.

Beyond the gloomier tonalites, PALADINE do channel much of the pomp and audial spectacle you would expect of a fantasy-inspired power metal outfit. The band’s penchant for grandiosity is best displayed by their symphonic tendencies across a number of cuts, such as the string and choir driven opening of the epic Darkness And Light. One of the album’s most bombastic numbers is the suitably titled Mighty Heart; boasting triumphant brass and sweeping strings, Mighty Heart erupts with harmonised guitar solos and a thundering rhythm section before stirring vocals take centre stage. The chorus subdues into a morose melody, while the string section continues to pirouette menacingly in the background, cementing the track as one of Entering The Abyss’s most ambitious and an album high point.

With such strong musicianship on display, the only criticism that could be levelled at Entering The Abyss is that it drags towards its end. While none of the material could be fairly called bad by any stretch of the imagination, PALADINE show their hand relatively quickly with material beginning to feel samey in the album’s latter half. For many however this will be a positive; while not hugely varied, the songs maintain a high-quality bar and will continue to entertain those locked into the distinctive sound and high concept of Entering The Abyss. For everyone else, PALADINE provide an ambitious and well executed record of thundering power metal – you just may need to take a break to digest it all.

Rating: 7/10

Entering The Abyss is set for release March 26th via No Remorse Records.

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