Knight and Gallow - For Honor and Bloodshed Review

Some albums are really tough to decypher and this aknowledgement of its inner self gets harder. It doesn’t matter how many times I loisten to them it gets tougher because each time I have a different impression and nothing comes to mind to write. Except writing about this difficulty. Voilá! I can now start.

The mind is just one fantastic thing. Now that I wrote all this things start to come and inspiration really is here. Of course, I could’ve written about the name of the band Knight and Gallow and its Tolkien’s clear influences in tracks as “Middle Earth” and “Men of the West” or others with not so clear influence as “Black Swordsman.” What is really clear here is the cape and sword inspiration as all nine tracks have this inspiration. Of course – again -, I could’ve also said anything about the Cirith Ungol inspired cover but I decided not to. Maybe it would be a way to stall my dear fan with more words. Weel, onsecond thought sometimes I do stall my dear fan when the inspiration is scarce. My dear fan knows that I write my reviews as if I were writing a chronicle – or near one as a matter of fact.

Musicwise the band is hard to decypher as Knight and Gallow follow a forgotten path of Metal music that is to be too heavy for Hard Rockers and not too heavy for Thrashers Metallers justo to cite the impression of the time the band is inspired on which is the mid-1980s. There is some Iron Maiden and moreover, a lot of Omen, the unsung heroes of Epic Metal. Vocalist Nick Chambers has the kind of very personal voice I told about on my reviews. The guys really does poignant things as using his abilities to be harsh and eerie in songs as “God’s Will” and its almost Thrash cadence and speed. But the guitars are the real attracttion in Knight and Gallow’s music not only with the rffing but also with the guitar solos that are really amazing and creative. It’s really the kind of Heavy Metal that the fan isn’t exactly used to just because even in its time it wasn’t so popular. I really liked the melodies the band used in tracks as “Blood Of Wolves.” By the way, melody is a stapler of the band and used with moderation and wisdom. The guitar licks and bridges in “Black Swordsman” are just fantastic. The way Ryan Younger and Carlos Sanchez share their solos is reallu impressive and remember a lot the masters. There is also something of Blind Guardian hidden at the end of this track with the final melody.

Listening to “For Honor and Bloodshed” showed a very inspired and cohesive band. This rare kind of band that the fan witness only in very especial occasions.

P.S.: While publishing the band’s photo I noticed how young the members are. Great to see that Metal music still attracts the young. A big hail to Knight and Gallow.

Knight and Gallow “For Honor and Bloodshed” will be released on March 18th via No Remorse Records.

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