Cauldron - New Gods

The New Wave of Traditional Metal continues with another strong release from one of the movement’s pioneers, Cauldron. This Canadian trio packed a lot of punch with their first four albums and their fifth is just as good. New Gods is a suitable album name for a band that hopes to carry the flag for the metal scene for years to come.

Cauldron, at least compared to other NWOTHM outfits, have always had a softer edge while still maintaining that classic metal sound. Still, fans of the band will notice that this release is a lot more melodic and slower-paced than their other albums. This is evident right off the bat with “Prisoners of the Past,” the opening track that has a heavy but tame lead riff. This song gets less attention than the following two tracks, which includes the album’s single, “Letting Go,” and “No Longer,” but it is largely better than those two.

In fact, one could certainly argue that the third track is the weakest song on this album. “No Longer” has garnered more attention than any song on the album, but I personally can not see how. “Letting Go,” was a solid choice for the single, but it is far from the album’s best song. The following song, “Save The Truth/Syracuse,” is a one-two blast of melodic overload and tasty guitar solos. The song’s coda is a distorted mess that crosses neatly into the following song, “Never Be Found.” This thriller is one of the album’s highlights with its great guitar chops and spectacular drumming. If Cauldron needed a single track to prove to the “old gods” that they are legitimate, “Drown” is that song. Terrific musicianship mixed with a great vocal delivery from bassist/vocalist Jason Decay create a classic track with melodic metal oozing out of every moment.

The album’s closing sequence is superb enough to leave us all wanting more. “Isolation” works as the interlude to “Last Request,” where the band saves their best for last. In a weird twist, this album certainly features its greatest material for the tail end of the album. If the track listing was flipped or reordered, this would certainly be an instant hit. Despite this, it is still a great album from front to back. Ian Chains deserves a nod for his tantalizing guitar work throughout the record. Myles Deck also does a great job on the drums throughout the album.

New Gods is far from Cauldron‘s best release, but it is a standard release from a band with a lot of talent and many great years ahead of them.

New Gods was released on September 7th, 2018 through Dissonance Productions.

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