ALBUM REVIEW: When Good Men Go To War – Vexillum
There is perhaps no more empowering feeling in metal than riding the swell of a truly great vocal melody and guitar lead in power metal. It’s a goosebump-inducing experience when everything is in perfect concert and the tone is just right, and it’s not for lack of trying that Italian folk/power metal quintet VEXILLUM strive to reach that flow on their newly released fourth record, When Good Men Go To War. They often get the formula half right, with guitarists Michele Gaspari and Francesco Caprina often stealing the show with some excellent tone and emotional lead playing and soaring solos. However, a truly great power metal band lives and dies by its vocalist, and while Dario Vallesi undoubtedly gives his all here, the feeling that other bands have accomplished what this record attempts but on a much higher level never truly escapes it, and the record lives in that spectre for the most part.
The record begins promisingly with opener Enlight The Bivouac taking the listener on an epic journey. There’s some epic highland pipes and chanting to open which sets a good tone of expectation. This is a well mixed record, and every element sounds properly in its place, and that’s especially important with how much folk instrumentation the band uses. Acoustic guitars, pipes, tin whistles… they all stand out exactly when they’re supposed to. There’s a great use of shifting dynamics in this ten minute track, but immediately, the vocals from Vallesi just don’t carry the emotional weight that they should for a track like this. It’s missing just a little extra sauce. However, the use of chorus and harmony in the latter part of the track is a standout, but it’s a technique that get old quick, as the band uses it on almost every song, which wouldn’t be a bother if the lead vocals were just a bit stronger.
From here, things unfortunately start to blend together. Sons Of A Wolf feels like a very stock and standard midtempo power metal track with little to differentiate it. There’s a nice main hook in the track, but it could be so much more, especially as the vocals stay down in the lower range and the guitar melodies feel same old, same old. Voluntary Slaves Army does perk the ears up with its triumphant guitar line and a pretty decent chorus melody, but the gang/chorus vocals come in again and just feel overused. But the guitar continues to soar and manages to be the star of this song, and this is just the beginning of the praise for VEXILLUM‘s two guitarists.
When A Good Man Goes to War has an atypical waltzing tempo that starts out intriguing, but just fades into a lot of nothing. This is another track that feels like other bands have done better recordings of, and there’s yet another use of the chorus that feels forced. Yet another chorus feels lacklustre, but yet again the guitar rises to the rescue with a tone that is crisp and cutting, transitioning into an excellent solo. Last Bearer’s Song keeps this trend alive, with the guitarists absolutely crushing the spotlight on this track. It’s emotional and passionate, and the tone once again feels spot on. It’s a shame the vocals can’t seem to keep up with the rest of VEXILLUM.
The Deep Breath Before The Dive takes on a very Celtic flavour, with some really great tin whistle work and an acoustic guitar line that meshes well with it. The vocals here do manage to elevate themselves a little bit, which makes this one of the better tracks on the record. However, Prodigal Son has nothing that jumps out. It’s a six-minute track with melodies that don’t work and instrumentals that feel bland and just very grey and middling. It’s a real momentum killer, if the record had much momentum at all to this point.
The record does a decent job picking up the pieces on Flaming Bagpipes, however. And with a title like that, how can it not deliver? The pipes get the blood up along with nice duelling guitar leads layered on top of them. There’s another excellent solo on this track that really flies high. Just great, great work from Gaspari and Caprina on this one. To follow that up, Vallesi really steps up on the final three tracks of the record. With My Hands features his most passionate vocal performance since the opening track, and there’s some more great tin whistle and acoustic guitar work that is only elevated by his passion.
The Tale of Three Hawks is a great ballad that feels like an Irish drinking song, with bluesy and folky guitar work; at least more so than on any other track so far. It definitely fits most into the ‘folk metal’ box of any other track. It’s fun and bouncy, and every instrument and vocal passage plays into that feeling, with, of course, guitar leading the way once again. Finally, Quel Che Volevo is a really lovely finisher. It’s a pure folk track, with lilting violins and guitars and pipes that combine with Vallesi‘s Italian lyricism to quite a beautiful pastoral effect. It’s a track full of happiness and joy that really sets itself apart. If the band could capture that magic a bit more often, this record could really have climbed a few steps.
When Good Men Go To War is a record that feels solidly in the middle, which is not a place that most power metal bands want to be. For a genre prided on how high it can soar with its melodies, caught in the middle is a bad sign. However, there are signs of life for VEXILLUM. The lead guitar tones and solos are, for the most part, outstanding, and the band’s use of Celtic instruments and acoustic guitar melded in with the electric parts really works for them. More time should be taken on crafting truly special vocally melodic moments to complement the guitars, and only then, when the two are perfectly in sync, will VEXILLUM be ready to join the big guns at in the grand hall of power metal.
Rating: 6/10
When Good Men Go To War is out now via Scarlet Records.
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