ALBUM REVIEW: Follow The Cipher – Follow The Cipher
Swedish power metallers FOLLOW THE CIPHER are close to releasing their self-titled debut album, with the group teaming up with Nuclear Blast. Looking to follow in the footsteps of their close friends SABATON, who have gone from strength to strength over the years, there is a lot of anticipation already for the debut record.
The new record beings with Enter The Cipher, a fitting title for an opening track. It begins with the haunting keyboards which gradually pick up pace, before the bass comes in to add depth and quickly followed by the guitar and drums, before they all come together in harmony to really kick things off. Linda Toni Grahn’s powerful vocals are evident straight away, and even through the pace and pitch changes she really delivers, and on the whole it’s a fantastic way to start the new album.
While Enter The Cipher is generic power metal, things take a completely different twist in the following track Valkyria. The sound is much more electronic almost straight away, and there is a huge emphasis on this right the way through, which give it more of a dubstep feel rather than power metal. Linda’s vocals go a step further as the band manage to combine two completely different genres into one format, but manage to make it work – very similar to EQUILIBRIUM‘s Born To Be Epic. The end of Valkyria flows into the next track, My Soldier, which continues the electronic sound for the intro, before slowing right down and turning into another classic power metal ballad, again showing off the band’s diversity.
There are a lot of strong tracks on this album, but no doubt one of the highlights of the entire record is actually the last one, Carolus Rex. It’s a name that may be familiar to many power metal fans, and yes this is a cover of the SABATON hit from the same album, which was actually written by FOLLOW THE CIPHER‘s founder Ken Kangstrom. In terms of the overall sound, it doesn’t differ too much from the original; the pitch is higher overall, and again Linda’s lyrics are phenomenal throughout, while the eagle eyed listener may be able to detect more subtle differences from the original. There’s no doubt though it is a solid way to bring the record to a close.
On the whole FOLLOW THE CIPHER have delivered a sublime album, there’s plenty of classic power metal elements that feature throughout, but the band have also been able to put their own distinct sound into the genre and make it truly unique. All of the elements combine well, and the whole album and every track comes together beautifully. They’ve taken power metal to a new level with this record, and it will be very intriguing to see what the future holds for the band.
Rating: 9/10
Follow The Cipher is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
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