Finland’s Assemble The Chariots has been on my radar for a few years now after I heard the single “Empress” back in 2021. They have a ton of singles and EPs  since 2009, all digitally released, but no full-length album- and as a result when they announced Unyielding Light, it became one of my most anticipated released of 2024.

Surprisingly the band hasn’t changed their delivery a whole lot since their first single “Reflections” in 2009, other than adding some orchestral flare with 2017s The Sulphur Voids EP.

So what style does Assemble the Chariots play? well, that’s a complex question as they don’t really fit into a single category. On one hand, they fit under the symphonic deathcore craze (Shadow of Intent’s “Farewell” from Elegy comes to mind), on the other hand, they are melodic death metal, or even The Black Dahlia Murder styled metal and at times tech/prog death. And even at times, and especially on this album they  have a larger power metal influence (Dragoncorpse comes to mind). Especially with some of the chord progressions and the band’s extensive use of narrations (Twilight Force would be proud) and the Sweeping interstellar concept that Unyielding Light conveys. At times I even get a slight Bal-Sagoth/Kull vibe.

No matter the genre though, the album is fucking brilliant. Notably, the orchestration compositions of guitarist Kevin Apostol , which might be the most rousing I’ve heard in 2024 ( a bar that keeps getting raised since the likes of Atavistia’s,  Ensom’s and Lamentari’s respective releases earlier this year). They are truly movie/ score quality and could be featured in any Hollywood A-list sci-fi/action movie.

Starting with the intro “Aquilegia In Peril” (the planet at the center of the album’s theme), the first of many spoken word narrations introduce things before “Departure” sets the tone with a blistering, hyper-speed number that reveals the band’s many styles in downright epic spades. The song’s pace is frequented for much of the next 48 minutes with a few exceptions.

The next song “Admorean Monolith” is one such song with a mid-paced cyber chug, that I could hear on a Kovenant album. But “As Was Seen by the Augerers” returns things to the sweeping, blasting majesty.

The ebb and flow of the album tells the story (with a complete lore that is available on their website) as efficiently as any movie as the album shifts between epic battles, personal loss, and sacrifice and somber climaxes teasing the next chapter. In particular personal favorites, “Evermurk”, “Empress” and “Emancipation” (with full-on power metal vocals in the chorus from Dreamtale and ex-Battle Beast singer Nitte Valo) are just simply riveting tracks that left me as entertained as any video game, movie, or any other album I’ve heard so far in 2024.

The album is subtitled The Ephemeral Trilogy part 1, so I really hope the band continues this saga, even though the bar has been set incredibly high, with what is for me an Album of the Year contender.

[Visit the band's website]

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