#seven-spires — Public Fediverse posts

What usually draws me to an unfamiliar band is an association with a familiar one, a novel concept, a superb album cover, or any combination of the three.1 For Seattle, Washington’s Telomyras and their debut record Duskfall, however, it was their promo’s “For Fans Of” list: Sanctuary, Metallica, Ignea, Crimson Glory, Death, and Seven Spires. This list is thorough War-Hall bait. Though I worried that Telomyras were doing what I normally do while cooking dinner—throw everything I love into it, flavor profiling be damned—I nonetheless eagerly snatched up Duskfall. “What could this possibly sound like?” I thought. Symphonic death thrash? Theater kid extreme prog? Hot garbage? Regardless, Telomyras promises “a unique blend of heavy metal and extreme metal” led by the operatically-trained Sammie Gorham. For me, Duskfall’s success depended on whether Telomyras could harness their multitudinous influences into a cohesive package or not. So, did they?

If you look for it, Telomyras’ FFO list isn’t wholly inappropriate to Duskfall. For starters, there’s a muscular power-thrash vein running through Duskfall, imbuing “Burden” and “Reckoning” with early-Metallica/Sanctuary aggression. Crimson Glory’s influence is primarily felt in the guitar leads (“The Altar”) and overall prog-power approach, but the kick patterns of “Harbinger (…The Eternal Night)” feel straight out of Transcendence, while the Death namedrop seems to arise from Gorham’s cavewoman howls on “Reckoning.” Including Ignea and Seven Spires is false advertising, however. There’s nothing symphonic about Telomyras, and though Gorham performs the beauty-and-beast vocal dynamic solo like the other two acts, her darker tone sounds more akin to Tower’s Sarabeth Linden than the other acts. When Telomyras are at their best (“Attrition,” “The Altar”), Duskfall is an enjoyably thrashy, powerful, and darkly atmospheric exercise in extreme-leaning heavy metal.

Though Telomyras are a talented bunch, Duskfall suffers from chemistry issues. In the guitar department, Telomyras can crush some respectable riffing by way of half-time Metallica chugs (“Witch”), speedy palm-mutes (“Burden”), and bruising thrash chops (“Attrition”). The solos on Duskfall are exquisite; they’re not especially flashy, but they bring a frantic energy to “Burden” and an 80’s power ballad pathos to “Duskfall” without resorting to basic Boomer Bends either. However, problems arise with how the instrumentals fail to mesh with the vocals. Gorham’s cleans sound off production- and performance-wise, sounding much muddier than everything else and at times out of sync with the rest of the band, almost like a karaoke take of itself (“Begin the End”). She also frequently leans flat, which stands out due to the aforementioned production issues and are especially evident during the layered vocal segments (“Reckoning,” “Attrition”). Interestingly, Gorham’s harsh vocals don’t have these issues at all, making Telomyras’ more extreme-influenced cuts like “Harbinger (…The Eternal Night)” and “Attrition” Duskfall’s smoothest cuts. Otherwise, Duskfall sounds like a band not exactly on the same page.

The real trouble with Duskfall is, somehow, that Telomyras play way too close to their chest. Telomyras can riff, but much of Duskfall is stuck in a mid-paced, meat-and-potatoes heavy metal mode playing out stock riffs. By the time “Begin the End” rolls around, I’ve heard everything simply too many times. Further production issues mute Duskfall’s potential, leaving Telomyras’ low end dull and high end slathered in copious gain. But the sad part of Duskfall is that it’s just too reserved to succeed in the genre. There are few soaring hooks, no truly nasty solos, and the only drastic tonal shift—”Duskfall” bringing in the whole band for the climax—feels jarring and unearned. There’s nothing wrong with honest pocket playing, but when the drums, riffs, solos, and vocals are all in the pocket, that pocket gets cramped and leaves the listener without a hook to grasp. It leaves Duskfall feeling fairly banal, which is just disappointing considering the evident talent behind it and the promise of Telomyras’ influences.

I was initially concerned that Telomyras would be balancing too many ideas, but, conversely, Duskfall doesn’t do enough to stand out. Duskfall too easily slips into the background while listening, and precious few moments stick in my memory afterwards. What kills me about this is that Telomyras are evidently better musicians than what’s being played on Duskfall. Better production would’ve certainly helped, but no amount of mixing can redeem songwriting without audacity. Hopefully, Duskfall is only an awkward first step for a band still getting their footing, as its best moments prove that Telomyras possess a serious upside. Here’s to hoping dawn breaks on that potential next time.

Rating: Disappointing
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: facebook.com/Telomyras | telomyras.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026

Like a sailor’s call to the sea, I am routinely compelled to the sub-genre of symphonic metal in all of its be-corset-ed miscellany. Why? Maybe I need a break from dudes singing ugly for ladies singing pretty. Maybe falling for Seven Spires justified my continued curiosity in the style.1 Maybe I’ve never been as happy as I was discovering Imaginaerum in high school. Regardless, the call brought me now to the German symphonic group Coronatus and their new record, Dreadful Waters. Led by songwriter/drummer Mats Kurth, Coronatus features three singers in mezzo sopranos Leni Eitrich and Sabine Prechtel, and “rock vocals” by Nemesis, who also contributes to songwriting along with guitarist Harry Zeidler. Rounded out with bassist Simon Gutbrod and violinist Tine Jülich, Coronatus wrote Dreadful Waters with a focus on “merging mysticism, danger and the elemental force of water.” All good words, but does Dreadful Waters bring the strings to live up to them and, more importantly, can Coronatus meet my fix for symphonic metal?

Whatever Coronatus is doing, Dreadful Waters sounds nice doing it. Oscillating between varying degrees of symphonic (“The Siren” and “Die Hexe und der Teufel”) and nautically inclined folk metals (“Southern Cross” and “A Seaman’s Yarn”), Dreadful Waters’ production and mix bring out the best in Coronatus’ instrumentation and give everything a rich openness. Guitars sound chunky and bold while taking on an auxiliary role to the violin and vocals, which are always warm and upfront. Coronatus’ mezzo sopranos bring your typical Tarja-era Nightwish operatics to “The Maelstrom” and “To the Reef!” while Nemesis’ “rock voice” means she brings a Jørn-like grizzled theatricality to her performances on “Dark Ice” and “The Ship’s Cook.” But what really stands out to me is Kurth’s drumming, which is more nuanced than the average symphonic drumming performance. The kick patterns on “Through the Brightest Blue”‘s chorus sound more like a Lamb of God drum track than Nightwish, and “To the Reef!” boasts a palpable jauntiness thanks to the percussion groove. Dreadful Waters is composed of many different pieces, so it’s nice that Coronatus got them all to sound good together.

But symphonic metal lives and dies on its vocalists, and while Coronatus’ singers are skilled musicians, their performances can feel awkward. Each vocalist often brings an almost comical level of warble to their voices, swinging tracks like “Southern Cross” and “A Seaman’s Yarn” towards the ridiculous. Nemesis in particular can overdo it, as her heavy, gravelly vibrato can at times chew the scenery. The mezzo soprano and “rock voice” stylings also sometimes stand at odds with each other, as on songs like “The Siren” and “Dark Ice,” they blend poorly and give off the impression that they weren’t in the studio at the same time. When Coroantus coalesce, like on the album highlight “The Ship’s Cook,” the result is a riveting blend of sophistication and grit that I could listen to all day, but moments like this are unfortunately rare on Dreadful Waters.

The slight vocal issues I see on Dreadful Waters may be a symptom of a larger issue on the album: the lukewarm songcraft. Coronatus’ songs mostly stick to either a slowburn or mid-paced stomp, featuring pretty folk melodies and pleasant orchestrations but little in the way of gripping hooks or powerful performances. Further, vocal melodies are usually played overly straight, throwing few unexpected turns or interesting intervals in favor of a fairly standard symphonic metal play sheet. This makes the more metal-friendly tracks like “The Maelstrom” and “The Siren” come off a bit tepid and, at Dreadful Waters’ worst, its ballads in “Southern Cross” and “Die Hexe und der Teufel” real slogs to get through. Only “The Ship’s Cook” excited me, and that’s because its power metal-adjacent vocal heroics and bouncy chorus melody embody what is woefully missing on much of Dreadful Waters: character.

Dreadful Waters neither sinks nor swims. Far from awful, this record’s shortcomings stem from not doing enough to stand out from the symphonic crowd or playing exceptionally well into its tropes. Less fairweather fans of symphonic metal than I may get more out of Coronatus’ style, but detractors of the style won’t be swayed from their haterdom by it either. Coronatus snagged a real winner with “The Ship’s Cook,” though, so I don’t foresee terrible sailing for the band in their future. But for meeting the need for big strings over my metal, Dreadful Waters doesn’t do it for me.



Rating: Disappointing
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps MP3
Label: Massacre Records
Websites: facebook.com/coronatusofficial | coronatus.de
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026

@Banur Yes, indeed. Same thing with #UnleashTheArchers or #SevenSpires.

https://youtu.be/BUVL020cIfk?si=OA6SPR-fYL3iBask

La meva #CançóDelDia per al dissabte 15 de març és aquesta de les #SevenSpires #Boston #MètalSimfònic 🗾!

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
The Weekly Injection: New Releases From KITTIE, SUMAC, and More Out Today – 6/21
Plus releases from Alcest, Seven Spires, Black Veil Brides, and Cavalera Conspiracy.

https://metalinjection.net/upcoming-releases/heavy-new-releases/the-weekly-injection-new-releases-from-kittie-sumac-and-more-out-today-6-21

#Alcest #BlackVeilBrides #CavaleraConspiracy #Kittie #SevenSpires #Sumac

#NowPlaying Seven Spires, "Gods Of Debauchery". I was only peripherally aware of these guys until they released this, their 'lockdown album' - Covid knackered their touring plans for their latest record, so they went straight back into the studio to record this 70+ minute banger. It is *extraordinary* - symphonic, death and even a little black metal fed into a blender. The playing is off the charts, and vocalist Adrienne Cowan is mind-blowingly versatile. #SevenSpires #Metal