ALBUM REVIEW: Trembling Crown – Chalice

It’s taken the four years since their formation in 2016 for Finnish heavy metal upstarts CHALICE to deliver their debut album, spending much of that time composing the seven songs that make up Trembling Crown. It’s very much a classic heavy metal record with a love of melodies and huge hooks. At fifty minutes and seven songs, it’s also a long album packed to the rafters with big riffs and singalong moments. 

Opening with the galloping Night’s Hands, CHALICE waste no time in making themselves known and the band change things up often enough to hold interest over its seven minute runtime. The various tempo changes to shift between scenes are well-executed and ensure the song passes in a blur of melody and riffing. Hunger of the Depth has dirgey, doom-like elements around the halfway mark that are reminiscent of MY DYING BRIDE. The strings are used to great effect, adding yearning sorrow to the song. The instrumental follow-up, Karkanxholl, takes on an old-school IRON MAIDEN vibe thanks to its lead-driven galloping bass and drums. 

For all its ambition, however, there is a glaring issue. The production, despite there being plenty of dynamics, drags the album down a lot. The vocals feel separated out from the instruments for a good portion of the album, most noticeably in quieter sections. Karkanxholl avoids this issue by being instrumental but then, the drums that should crash like thunder here, and elsewhere across the album, simply don’t. Instead of the rollicking, pounding and crashing expected of a classic metal drum sound, there’s just a weak clattering. This is especially egregious on Wings I’ve Known, where the cymbals, bass drum and toms sound uninspired and sloppy. The guitar tone is overwhelmed by its midrange, with very little in the way of bass other than the bass guitar that can get buried in the mix. 

The overall effect is of an ambitious band that stumbles over itself far too often in their drive to create bombastic traditional metal. There’s some enticing song-writing but it’s hamstrung by poor production and an album that can feel like it drags, with only one song under six minutes not doing them any favours. It’s a shame because CHALICE are clearly talented and have promise. It’ll be interesting to see where CHALICE go from here – a second album that could address the woes and pitfalls of Trembling Crown would be a force to be reckoned with, indeed. For now, sadly, this is one debut that trembles and falters under its own weight.

Rating: 6/10

Trembling Crown is out now via High Roller Records.

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