Band: Warrior Path
Album: Warrior Path
Release Date: 1st March 2019
Record Label: Symmetric Records
I get sent quite a few press kits nowadays, and some of them haven’t read the kinds of albums I review, as I end up with a lot of thrash and death metal in my inbox. However, this one grabbed my attention as it listed Bob Katsionis from Firewind, and one of my favourite ever vocalists, Yannis Papadopoulos from the amazing Beast in Black (review for From Hell With Love) as two of the contributors to this album. It is the self titled debut from Warrior Path.
Riders of the Dragons starts us off with a bass guitar intro, and a slow build up with guitars and choir. When the main body of the song kicks in, it is very 80’s sounding and have a heavy Iron Maiden vibe to it. It’s a traditional heavy metal sounding track with a tempo you can headbang to. There’s also a slow epic guitar solo before another build up to the full band again.
A single guitar introduces The Hunter, and it turns heavier, with the epic feel of the guitar which started over the top. There’s a gallop in the drums and guitar riff whichis always welcome in a power metal track. Sinnersworld has an interesting melody in the introduction, and again sounds incredibly influenced by Iron Maiden. We are provided with storm clouds, thunderclaps, and an epic sounding intro with Stormbringers, it’s a marching pace ripe for headbanging to, and it’s the first time we hear the higher pitched power metal vocals.
Black Night starts off with an acoustic introduction and the first half is most definitely a ballad. However, the second half becomes heavier. The Path of the Warrior is a 10 minute long epic. Starting with a choral drone and guitar, it builds up to the full band before being tripped back down again with the guitar alone, and spoken word. There are ballad elements and marching pace elements, and the pace changes throughout the track. The track ends by fading out with a marching pace.
Battle cries and a clashing of steel start a Fight for your Life, and the main body of the track is fast paced. If this was ever played live, there would be a great opportunity for the crowd to chant “Fight!” live. It’s another fade out to end the track. Mighty Pirates gently eases us in with acoustic guitar and the sound of gentle waves. There is a bit of a build up in the instrumental, and it’s a mid paced track. There are a hint of harsh vocals at the start, but this is soon overtaken by the usual clean power metal vocal style. There’s more gallop and a bit of grit in the instrumental.
A complete ballad, Dying Bird of Prey is an acoustic track that you can definitely wave a lighter or phone in the air to. The final track, Valhalla I’m Coming, echoes the feel of the previous. The track uses acoustic guitar and strings to bring a somber atmosphere. I feel the ending was a little anti-climactic for me, however.
This is another great power metal album. There is definitely a heavy Iron Maiden influence to the composition and the mixing and mastering. It’s a big throwback to the 80’s heavy metal era. My main (and only) issue with this album is that for my taste there’s a little too much ballad in there. I do however hope that there will be more from Warrior Path, there’s a lot of potential for this new project to go a long way.
Verdict: 8/10
Buy Warrior Path music and merch: https://warriorpath.bandcamp.com/
Follow Warrior Path on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/warriorpathgr/
Ostara Metal 