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Hey! Listen To Warpstone!

Have you ever wondered what Alkaloid or modern Enslaved would sound like if they were Warhammer themed and had less jazz and black metal influences, respectively, instead swapping those for

6 years ago

Have you ever wondered what Alkaloid or modern Enslaved would sound like if they were Warhammer themed and had less jazz and black metal influences, respectively, instead swapping those for a healthy dose of classic prog and metal influences?  Probably something like Warpstone sound. Hailing from France, Warpstone are still somehow unsigned despite having released two full length albums on bandcamp, which you can check out below. Don’t be put off by the two track listing for each album, either, as both are actually full lengths with nine to ten tracks and well worth the asking price.

Their debut, Daemonic Warpfire, is an excellent showcase of their, and while lacking a bit in the production department (the guitars in particular could use more gain and attack) the strong songwriting and interesting, off-kilter channeling of classic prog rock influences into the progressive death metal formula more than makes up for it.

The band’s second album, however, is where they really come into their own as one of the best unsigned bands in the modern progressive metal scene. Into The Phantasmancer Celestial Castle is a tour-de-force of proggy goodness, expanding on everything good about Daemonic Warpfire and adding in some elements of traditional heavy metal and doom metal for good measure. Folky interludes remind of Opeth‘s glory days, and some songs harken back to faster Black Sabbath tracks.

It’s somewhat amazing that Warpstone are still unsigned and somewhat unknown, as the quality of their songwriting is far ahead of many major label bands in the same musical vein. They would sit nicely alongside the rest of the roster on Sentient Ruin, for example. Hopefully their hard work will be rewarded with more deserved exposure and success as soon as possible. In the meantime, check out their Bandcamp page, and buy both their albums!

Heavy Blog

Published 6 years ago