Photo by: Janica Lönn
Official press release:
Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, melodic death metal force Brymir take a stand with their most commanding full-length yet and Napalm Records debut, entitled Voices in The Sky, set for release on August 26, 2022. Formed in 2006, the five-piece – featuring lead guitarist Joona Björkroth (Battle Beast), frontman, writer and producer Viktor Storm Gullichsen, drummer Patrik Fält (Feastem, ex-Afgrund), guitarist Sean Haslam and bassist Jarkko Niemi – began to stir up the scene in 2011 with their debut Breathe Fire to the Sun, uniting folk metal influences with cinematic soundscapes and hard hitting, fast-paced melodic death impacts.
With an acoustic guitar introduction, the passionate, official first single and album opening title track marks an ode to heavy metal and precedes an epic, bludgeoning wall-of-sound with stunning instrumentation, blazing guitars and a performance of the most crushing drum-grooves imaginable!
Viktor Gullichsen on the album and first single:
“Even in the darkest times of despair, the songs and sounds we cherish can help us light our way through the night. For us, writing the album Voices In The Sky served this purpose during the past trying years. It let us imagine how it would feel to be back on the road, touring alongside our friends and our idols. As performing live is one of our driving forces, we eventually began to feel powerless without being able to do it.
This is especially apparent in the lyrics for the title track. It is a song about ambition forged in frustration and longing. About a desire for the validation an artist so often needs to fuel the endless pursuit of expression and accomplishment – especially the kind of validation we only can find in club full of roaring metalheads, reacting to our music. Even many other songs tell of travel, discovery and conquest. I wonder why…
Now that our newest creation is finally fully formed and ready to launch, we are beyond excited to head out on the most epic and ambitious chapter yet in Brymir’s 15 year history. See you on tour!”
Watch the official music video:
Voices in The Sky marks a hefty next level creation in the vein of Ensiferum, Wintersun and Children of Bodom, but serves as a more modernized answer to the melodic death metal equation with massive production, deep grooves and air-tight technicality. Nevertheless, Brymir continues to draw inspiration from traditional genres like folk and classical music, all brought together perfectly at the hands of the band and producer mastermind and singer Viktor Storm Gullichsen at JKB Studios, with mastering helmed by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios.
Pre-order Voices in The Sky NOW.
After the album opening title track, Brymir’s outrageous outburst continues with full speed on “Forged in War”, featuring additional vocals of live session guitarist Antti Nieminen, who also contributes to folk metal-reinforced “Far From Home”. “Seeds of Downfall”, the record’s most aggressive and gloomy track, doesn’t lack once in the majestic arrangement arena – merging with heroic choirs and, together with “Landfall”, represents the technical brilliance of the unit at its best. Heavily catchy “Fly with Me” proves the band’s remarkable ability to combine immense, clear, earworm choruses with furious growls and heavy breakdowns, while tracks like “Herald of Aegir” – a mythology-adorned stance against pollution of our oceans – and “Rift Between Us” approach the more power metal-inflamed facet of the Finnish juggernauts while still rooted in the melodic death metal segment. The excursion continues with heartfelt “Borderland”, featuring intense lyricism underlined by the poem “My Testament” by renowned Ukrainian poet Taras Schevchenko.
Voices in The Sky closes with both the nearly eight-minute epic “All as One” and a raging bonus cover of Dark Funeral’s “Diabolis Interium” that hits as grimly as the original. On this 11-track piece, Brymir combines the best of their defining elements to a greater good, showcasing that they are at the very top of their game and ready to enter the next level in their promising journey!
Voices in The Sky track listing:
- “Voices in the Sky”
- “Forged in War”
- “Fly with Me”
- “Herald of Aegir”
- “Rift Between Us”
- “Landfall”
- “Borderland”
- “Far from Home”
- “Seeds of Downfall”
- “All as One”
- “Diabolis Interium” (bonus)
Brymir is:
Viktor Gullichsen – vocals
Joona Björkroth – guitars, backing vocals
Sean Haslam – guitars
Jarkko Niemi – bass, backing vocals
Patrik Fält – drums