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PASSAGE
Passage

Steel Gallery (2025)
Rating: 7/10

If the current European heavy metal scene was the Eurovision Song Contest then Greece would receive the most votes when it comes to quality and popularity. Steel Gallery Records has been issuing some good stuff and Passage is the latest group to bring the heavy metal flavours.

Recorded and mixed at Sound Symmetry Studios in Athens by Bob Katsionis, who also produces the album along with the band, this debut full-length has an enticing dark tone to its existence. When ‘Tempter From Heaven’ slithers forth one is immediately struck by the crisp musicianship and Gothic nature. The drums of Pepper D Koll are tidy, fluid hits and the axe work of Chris Schizo and a fellow named Mimis boast a melodic stance reminiscent of a fusing of King Diamond and Fates Warning. I’d also throw a slice of Helstar into the mix too.

This is very much engaging heavy metal led by the vocals of Markos Darko whose calls don’t quite cut the mustard but he does his best to hit the highs, although at times there’s a fragility. Even so, he’s a fine storyteller who lures the listener into the dark depths of humid citadels, ancient cracked ruins and formidable fortresses guarding mystical kingdoms. Musically, the album flows nicely, sometimes channelling a power metal ethos as Spyros Gold’s bass rumbles with ominous intent.

Excluding the intro (‘Passage’) there’s only seven songs presented but they all make an immediate mark. ‘Into The Abyss’ is a personal favourite with its moody melody and seriously dark guitar work. Again there’s that marrying of a Fates Warning style of colourless yet clear heavy metal and King Diamond. ‘Eternal Frost’ is somewhat archetypal galloping trad’ metal hinting at a Euro power metal vibe which tends to grate on me, but for the most part the album simmers nicely, engaging its audience with steely if somewhat predictable frameworks (‘Fates Reveal’ and ‘Devoid Of Reality’).

There’s more variation on the expansive and epic ‘Her Desolate Land’ where the instrumentation is delivered with clarity and the vocals have a soulful conviction. Darko is still an accomplished main man even if his style soars with coldness, but he really comes into his own on the finale of ‘Dawning War’, a slow-build of a tune with descriptive lyrics, a dash of organ and militant percussion. As Darko croons “nothing left to live for no one to fight for,” I’m there among the smouldering buildings and bloodied corpses hoping that the band’s follow-up may feature more of this steadier, brooding style of metal because when Passage resorts to such dynamics they are quite the force.

Neil Arnold

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