EP REVIEW: Part Two: Reborn Into Darkness – Dendera

For anyone not familiar with DENDERA, they’re one of the heavier bands from the UK power metal scene. Their two full length albums – 2013’s The Killing Floor and 2015’s Pillars Of Creation – married fast, thrashy guitar riffs with a classic metal melodicism and soaring vocals. It was chest-thumping, macho stuff that generally received good reviews and won them a devoted following. There may have been some doubts over their future when singer Ashley Edison and his bassist brother Bradley both joined POWER QUEST, but they remained committed to their original band too. This four song EP is their first official release after a long hiatus.

And if we had to guess, it seems that having spent time in the ace-but-incredibly-nerdy POWER QUEST, the Edison brothers have got all that dragons and twelve-sided dice business out of their systems. DENDERA didn’t shy away from the pit before, but Reborn Into Darkness turns the heavy up a notch.

The riffs are faster, the drums hit harder and there’s a noticeable increase in growled vocals, courtesy of CJ McMahon [THY ART IS MURDER] and Tom Barber [CHELSEA GRIN] who make guest appearances. They may seem like odd choices as DENDERA are still a power metal band at heart, but it works remarkably well. On Reborn they could even pass for a melodeath act, the duelling vocals playing out over some seriously gnarly riffage and a twisting, electric-fingered solo.

That being said, you’re not going to have any trouble making out any of the lyrics here. DENDERA have a good grasp of melody and the choruses are still perfect for bellowing out while wearing a plastic Viking helmet. The Void might initially make long-time fans wince, but it’s unlikely to put any of them off in the long run.

The End Of Days meanwhile rides in on the sort of galloping guitar leads that they’ve been trading in for years. It then turns into a serious earworm in the midsection, only to plunge deep into the bowels of hell in the final third. It’s well-executed, confident and the sound of a band moving beyond traditional power metal into something more exciting.

In other words, Reborn Into Darkness is arguably the best thing they’ve put out so far. Spreading band members across two different projects can be problematic, but in this case, it’s worked in their favour. If their previous albums were the imposing everyman Hugh Jackman from the first X-Men movie, this EP is the ridiculously shredded, ‘I’ve eaten nothing but beef for eight months’ Hugh Jackman of The Wolverine. Any POWER QUEST fans checking out “’the other band’ should like this, but it may come as a mild shock when the screaming starts.

Rating: 8/10

Part Two: Reborn Into Darkness is out now via self-release.

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