Tyraels Ascension “Hell Walker”
Pacific northwest melodic death metal act Tyraels Ascension make their debut with the band’s brand new album Hell Walker. Building hype for themselves with not only the album’s lead single “Holy Fire”, but also having a video game based on the band’s music (you can check out the game on Steam HERE). With that being said, does the band deliver a sonic assault of melodic death metal on this album? Does the awesome album cover artwork match the sonic onslaught of melodic death metal?
”The Prophecy” opens the album with a very Gothenburg sounding guitar. With moments of hardcore in the drums and callout, the song heads into the melodic death metal sound heavily with the guitars playing by Kevin McNeil & Sean Searls. Alex Theesen’s vocal have that visceral anger and energy in his delivery, especially heading into the dueling guitar harmonies piece. I love the chugging palm-muted riff with the lead guitars soloing over it. Morgan Hoehne’s double bass adds so much punch in the closing moments, before a peaceful clean guitar part closes the song out. On “Descent”. the guitar playing has some elements of mathcore with the higher notes and dissonance. The song then kicks the door in with building kick drums, segueing into commanding double bass throughout the verses section. Definitely getting metalcore vibes on the song, especially with the guitar playing and the section heading into the chorus. Duel harmony acoustic guitars provide a nice break in the heaviness, before drums and electric guitar begins to rise amidst the production. The volume and mix get amped up as the guitar solo and ascending drums pick up. Lifting the song’s spirit up a notch after the halfway mark. The chorus instantly has that Howard Jones-era of Killswitch Engage in the vocals and chorus’ guitar sound. Pummeling drums and chugging guitars opens “Architect”. Heavy riff and driving snare hits in the mix, cutting through the guitars as the vocals kick in. I was bobbing my head along with the riff as the song’s tempo and pacing picks up into the guitar solo before the chorus. Clean vocals on the track does channel that Trivium-like vocal harmonies as the riff definitely gives off that 2000’s metalcore vibe. Hoehne leads the charge with double bass and all over the kit drum strikes before heading into the bridge. Somber, clean and emotional sounding guitars open the track “The Dead Lights”. Theesen’s vocals lead the song in the beginning with very nice cleans, before switching the deep growls, while we get that trademark chugging guitars with fretboard hammer-ons heading into the chorus. A pretty straight-forward, but heavy track.
We get a nice, peaceful instrumental acoustic piece “Prelude To War”. The guitars are mixed beautifully, with just the right amount of reverb. Filling the space of the mix and giving the listener a calm before the storm for the rest of the album. Next is “The Art of War” and features Dustin Cichosz of Surpasses. The guitar almost has a metalcore riff, mixed with a groove metal style bounce to the song, which works on the track. I love the distortion in the vocals on the chorus, so much grit in them, creating that phlegmy-almost fry scream style scream. Guitars are definitely front and center in the mix, leading louder than the drums and almost rivaling the vocals. I can picture the song being a hit in the pit, especially when we get to the breakdown tease before the chorus at the halfway mark. The anthemic build with the drums and guitars near the three-quarters mark, segueing into clean vocals behind the growls was beautifully done and really emphasizes the emotional performance of the song. My favorite track off the album. Lo-fi rising guitars and drums open “When The Hero Dies”. Nice ringing guitars and driving drums as the vocals begin to rise. I like the pacing from quiet, clean guitars to thrash-like metalcore guitars. Great transitioning in that section. The up-tempo energy of the verses definitely has that “get the pit going” energy to it. The addition of black metal-esque tremolo and blast beats before the halfway mark comes out of left field and actually works with the song. Probably the most progressive and complex track off the album. With the band playing around with key and tempo changes and infusing different elements of different genres of metal.
“Holy Fire” opens with hit the ground running drums and guitars. I was instantly bobbing my head along with every snare strike. The build up into the chorus, with blast beats and tremolo again, really helps psyche the listener up as the song hits the chorus. After the chorus, the pacing slows down a bit, before a guitar flurry reignites the song to speed up again. With moments of speed up, slow down throughout, the song is like a wave of different intensities and pacing. On “Cutting Ties”, drums are aggressive and dominant in the mix. With every snare strike piercing through the guitars in the mix. Vocals are a mix of growls and high screams, creating that harsh harmony effect. The guitar soloing before the halfway mark is insanely impressive and heavy, stank-face inducing almost. “Twin Angels” opens with classic-metalcore dueling harmonies, with blasting drums beneath it. Theesen has so much reverb, maybe echo as well, on his vocals at certain parts. Really adding that heft to his growls and filling the space of the mix. The riff is reminiscent of The Black Dahlia Murder in the play style and pacing. The song leans more towards the melodic death metal sound, and I REALLY dug it on this song. “Inferno” opens with an ominous guitar and building cymbal hits. Opening in a more slower pacing compared to the previous songs. With emotional sounding guitar playing, that segues into beautifully mixed dueling guitar harmonies and soloing. Double bass packs a whollop during the closing section of the soloing as the song hits hard when the vocals kick in and the song amplifies in intensity. Hoehne just doesn’t hold back in his playing. Many of the moments throughout the song, he tries to hit every piece of his drum kit or adds aggression to the song with random double bass and snare blasts. After another dueling guitar harmony, we get a nice, tranquil sounding acoustic guitar section. Adding depth and unique composition to the song. With an almost Dream Theater-style break in the song, its something different and makes the song original and outside the box, before bringing the heaviness for the closing moments one last time. The album closes with the self-reflective sounding instrumental “Time of The Witcher”. With a Baroque-era sounding guitar playing and subtle drums, the song sounds so peaceful in nature and the playing is impressive in the musicianship of the song.
Overall, Hell Walker delivered a good record with an eclectic mix of metalcore and melodic death metal. There were some moments I did like throughout the album. From the unique guitar playing and awesome guitar harmonies throughout the album. And Theesen has a nice combination of clean and growls on the album. I will admit, there were some songs that were “ok” in my opinion. With songs sounding similar to popular metalcore/melodic death metal acts, that it made me wanna go listen to those bands instead, which isn’t a bad thing. But some people might pull the “We Have (insert band) at Home” mindset towards those songs. The record is good overall, but I will be curious to see where the band goes from here on their next album and how the band’s sound will develop on future records.
SCORE: 3.5 / 5
You can check out the album on the band's Bandcamp page HERE. You can also stream the album on the band's Spotify page HERE.
