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DIVINER
Avaton

ROAR! Rock Of Angels (2023)
Rating: 8/10

Once again the country of Greece has come up with a strong metal release, this time in the form of Athens-based combo Diviner. No, I’m not a fan of the cover art but I can forgive all due to the nature of the beast herein.

Avaton is the third full-length album from the band, and once again they have channelled the mystical steel of Dio, particularly in the vocals of Yiannis Papanikolaou who boasts a beefy set of pipes. Avaton has that bombastic, striding majesty about its contours, and such chest-pounding masculinity is not a world away from epic power metal. The sound contained is one so crisp and clear but not mechanical as the hard drums pound like a million heartbeats accompanied by the thud of a one hundred thousand thunder horses.

‘Mountains High’ gallops like a hybrid of Dio and Manowar; cocksure and crotch-clutching with every metallic beat. The vocals run like rivers of molten steel, conjuring images of great armies, smouldering lands and a billion metalheads bangin’ in unison.

Some may argue that this album, even with its sturdy constructions, is more melodic and less heavy than previous releases, but this is still pure, grandiose heavy metal epitomised by the chugging groove metal of ‘Cyberwar’ or the thrashy nuances of the crunchy ‘Nemesis’.

If I had to push for a weak track then maybe ‘Dominator’ springs to mind, more so due to its rather glossy and slightly mechanical nature. But this remains an all round bold statement from a band that deserves to reach a bigger audience, and all the while they are creating songs like the strident powerhouse ‘Waste No Time’ they shouldn’t have any problems achieving their goal.

Neil Arnold

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