Dynazty - The Dark Delight
Released 3/4/20 - By DeeDee
Album review by: DeeDee
Swedish melodic metal, or even Nordic metal, as that covers all of Scandinavia, has no shortage of decent bands. The halls of Valhalla are probably already set up with a sound system to welcome many Viking metal heroes in the future. However, DYNAZTY have been around since 2008 and did venture to the UK back in October 2016 and they impressed us. Enough in fact to mark them as much more than just another bunch of Norse raiders.
‘Presence Of Mind’ has a pounding rhythm to introduce us to the album, with bellowing vocals and stacks of backing harmonies; it is almost operatic in stature. The bridge, of spoken words mid-way, adds a hint of downtown hustle and then there is a burst of guitar groove that wets the lips for more. ‘Paradise Of The Architect’ renders powerful driving and force filled lines, epic sounding with more of the multi level vocals. The 5 piece delve into ‘The Black’ they certainly know how two muster the catch of a beating heart. Nils Molin has a remarkable clear voice and it’s backed by the frantic and pulsating dual guitars of Love Magnusson and Mikael Lavér. The next track ‘From Sound To Silence’ carries on with the dark and heavier side of Nordic, lower all round with an increasing sense of doom. Again the song splits into pieces and there is chance for the guitars to feature. All the way through you can hear Jonathan Olsson containing the edge on bass and drummer George Egg hits out fervently on more than one occasion.
‘Hologram’ begins with gentle vibes, mellow singing and thoughtful strings. It soon increases in body and becomes a more power based ballad, but retains its heartfelt message. ‘Heartless Madness’ chimes into action, a rather punchy number, with strange overtones. The following ‘Waterfall’ is more full on returning to the richer sound and having bass splendour, again the guitar solo is brief but evocative. ‘The Man And His Elements’ is another with weird traits, having pipe/flute influx, resulting in a kind of metal jig Jethro Tull would be proud of. It is saved with some decent fret manoeuvres and Nils’ accomplished voice.
‘Apex’ couldn’t be further away from the previous number, eerie beginnings, a heavy melodic mix and signs of hell and damnation, superb racing guitar and apocalyptic vocals. ‘The Road To Redemption’ is the penultimate track, a howling wind swirls, introducing us to an uphill journey of increasing pressure, it’s an elegant song. The final and title work ‘The Dark Delight’ is less powerful and more direct, it flows with a graceful tempo though and again there’s a nice slice of guitar work. There is a bonus track ‘The Shoulder Devil’ on some formats, guess I will have to indulge in buying a limited vinyl edition to hear it.
The God Odin has graced Dynazty with a producer on ‘The Dark Delight’ that has captured the sound with such clarity, that the result is pretty awesome. Maybe a couple on the list didn’t need to be so experimental, but in all fairness they did heighten the variety and overall this is a winning album for the band and one they should be proud of.
4/5
Band Members
Nils Molin (vox)
Love Magnusson (guitar)
George Egg (drums)
Mikael Lavér (guitar)
Jonathan Olsson (bass)
”The Dark Delight” - Out on April 3rd!
Pre-order starts NOW!
The album will be available as Digipak, limited coloured vinyl and strong limited exclusive vinyl
Pre-order here: http://afmrec.de/TheDarkDelight
Tour Dates:
01.04.2020 DE München Backstage
03.04.2020 DE Weinheim Cafe Central
04.04.2020 DE Essen Turock
05.04.2020 NL Haarlem Patronaat
07.04.2020 NL Enschede Metropool
08.04.2020 BE Diest Moonlight Music Hall
09.04.2020 DE Rüsselsheim Das Rind
10.04.2020 CH Luzern Schuur
11.04.2020 AT Wörgl Komma
13.05.2020 FI Tampere Olympia
14.05.2020 FI Helsinki On The Rocks
15.05.2020 FI Joensuu Kerubi
16.05.2020 FI Kuopio Henry’s Pub