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IDOL THRONE
The Sibylline Age

Stormspell (2022)
Rating: 6.5/10

Slightly hindered by the vocal croons of Jake Quintanilla, Highland, Indiana -based thrash-cum-power metallers Idol Throne march on post-pandemic with their debut full-length album. It’s a record emblazoned with Teutonic fire and striding with golden crispness, but is marred by Quintanilla’s at times tuneless commands which at don’t seem to fit the sizzling cacophony around him.

Idol Throne is a band that requires a bit more fire in its vocal delivery. In fact, the only time Quintanilla really steps up to the mark – and this is only in part – is on ‘Unholy Warrior’. Other than that, the attempts at being vocally epic leave me cold, I’m sorry to say.

The Sibylline Age is still a rewarding record if overlong and a touch too glossy, but ultimately solid in its approach as the band reveal numerous ear-engaging tales amidst their tides of multi-layered thrash which boasts numerous tempos.

At times there is just a little too much contemporary power metal design for my liking, such as with the grandiose tracks ‘Last Full Measure’ and ‘Crown Of Fools’ which, despite their length, remain sandwiched in-between better songs. And a track like ‘Raven’s Blade’ proves my point that if Jake Quintanilla put more emphasis on a lower end vocal snap instead of trying to over-sing, we’d be in for a treat especially as the rest of the band exhibit some almost melodic Anthrax-style of musings weaved in with power metal rumbles.

In a sense the nature of the album divides me, and it’s certainly not as progressive as I imagined it to be. However, if you do like strong anthemic metal with flashes of thrash and power metal then there’s far worse out there. It’s just that I find some of it rather cold and contemporary, and even the cover design gives me chills… but each to their own.

I see Idol Throne appealing to many metal heads still lost in Mordor, but for now I’m finding it patchy and rarely potent enough to grab me.

Neil Arnold

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