RISE TO REMAIN
CITY OF VULTURES
For the past few years, UK metallers Rise To Remain have been playing bigger and bigger shows, opening for bands such as Five Finger Death Punch, Iron Maiden and even opening slots at Download, their E.P. Bridges Will Burn has turned a few heads, gained a fair amount of attention and has earned them the aforementioned opening slots, after listening to ‘City Of Vultures’ which is their debut record, its fair to say that the band should be going higher up on any major shows/festivals.
After an epic intro, it all kicks off with latest single ‘The Serpent’, starting off Lamb Of God style and wasting no time in going full pelt, vocalist Austin Dickinson showcases his amazing vocals which ranges from low growls to high pitched clean singing, and he puts the latter to great use on a chorus so huge that it should have its own postcode. ‘The Day Is Mine’ and the title-track continue the feat but it’s not until we come across ‘Talking in Whispers’ where the melodies take centre stage, throughout the song, the riffs are kept to a minimum, particularly in the verses which then leads on one of the best choruses of the album, a definite highlight.
‘God Can Bleed’ is one of the most heaviest and anthemic songs youll hear on this album whereas ‘Power Through Fear’ continues on the same path, albeit less technical and more melodic, but it’s definately one of the most impressive out of the 12 tracks thats on offer here. Towards the end of the album youll hear one of the most epic sounding tracks on the album, ‘Roads’ is a belter of a song, compared to other tracks its the most melodic and has a balladry feel to it, Dickinson has stated recently that he would love it if his band headline Wembley, if his wish does come true in the future, then this song will sound mega, not just in Wembley, but in every other major arenas around the world. Finishing off with previous single ‘Bridges Will Burn’ which ends the album on a heavy note, it’s also possibly the most brutal track here, a brilliant song to end the album.
Places like Scandinavia and the USA have always been the front-runners for churning out the best rock and metal bands, but after listening to Rise To Remains debut, it’s great to hear that British metal is finally catching up. Fellow Brits Sylosis, Malefice, Xerath etc have all released brilliant albums this year, ‘City Of Vultures’ can add to that list. The musicianship on this album is astonishing, particularly guitarists Will Homer and Ben Tovey who play their instruments as if they’ll be playing them for the very last time.
I can safely say that British Metal is looking very much on the up and up, if there are other bands that can create albums as fantastic as this one, then Great Britain will surely be alongside Scandinavia and the USA as one of the best countries that Metal has to offer.
Check out Rise to Remain here - http://www.risetoremain.com/home/
Words By Graeme Williams
