ALBUM REVIEW: Sword And Scythe – Rising

Just two years after the release of Oceans into Their Graves, Danish metallers RISING have returned with their new record Swords And Scythe. It is the band’s fourth studio record, and will mark ten years since the band originally formed despite disbanding briefly after their second album Abominor was released in 2013.

The new album begins with an instrumental track, Amor Fati, lasting 40 seconds and gradually building up to the second song Empirical. The intro is fairly slow and gradually builds up as the seconds progress, and flows straight into Empirical; from the opening second the riffs are hard and heavy, again at a relatively moderate tempo, though that soon picks up courtesy of vocalist Morten Gronnegaard, whose haunting style really adds to the atmosphere, very similar to that of Ozzy Osbourne, and on the whole is a solid opening track to ease you into the rest of the record.

Once you’ve had that first taste of the album, RISING kicks things up a notch with the following track Hunger and Exile. The riffs become heavier and the tempo increases again, and there’s a lot more guitar shredding throughout, but what’s quite intriguing is the way the sound turns retro and sounds like a throwback to the 70s and 80s when the underground scene began to emerge. Again another solid effort from the band and it makes for enjoyable listening thus far.

The recipe remains pretty similar for the rest of the record, which really makes it hard to pick out highlights of the record as each one is phenomenal. There are subtle differences between each one, whether it be the way the intro is formed or the different emphasis in each track, but really the sound remains consistently good from start to finish. When you really sit down and run through the album a few times, then really some of the bigger hits are Ancestral Sun, Renewal Ritual and Sea of Irrelevance, but really each track that features could be considered a hit.

While Sword And Scythe may well be the band’s fourth studio album, it is really only their second since reforming and rejigging the lineup, and you can tell that a lot of work has been put in to giving RISING their own distinct sound and style. Right from the moment you press play until the very last second, it is a fantastic record to listen to, and really maintains your interest all the way through which is another huge plus point. The sound and structure of each track and the way it has been put together really is a masterstroke. RISING are really rising in their popularity, and the release of this record will only help to establish that – it’s a record well worth checking out if you’re looking to expand your music collection.

Rating: 8/10

Sword And Scythe is out now via Indisciplarian.

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