review: Gallows Hymn: "prog folk metal" from Washington state, U.S.A.

Gallows Hymn

The Age of Decadence

October 1st, 2020

In 2019 Gallows Hymn had their debut album The Gathering Storm, which a reviewer at Metal Archives described, in part, saying, “The bulk of the album consists of fairly dense, melodic, almost death metal-like tracks with plenty of blast-beat thunder and siren-like lead guitar action, and packed with riffs and melodies so much so that even right up to the end of tracks there are new tunes and twists appearing.” Basically, a melodic extremity along the lines of black metal sensibilities softened with catchy guitar work and lower, gruffer growling (not shrieking), and the use of some prog ideas but not overdoing it.

The 2020 album, in our opinion, continues the general stylings of the first album: melodic black metal with prog tendencies, for a sound of "melodic prog pagan metal." Despite all the possible labels and categorizations and descriptions for the album, the bottom line is that the band uses plenty of melodies that could potentially draw in audiences. The melodies function well as part of the songs. Sure, the prog is there, but listeners will hear that there are songs in most cases (maybe some tracks are too proggy), which is really the thing that matters.

The band does have not a drummer on the album and used drum programming and at the moment they do not have a vocalist, as the vocalist on the album is no longer in the band. It remains to be seen how Gallows Hymn rebounds with a new drummer and new vocalist. One senses in some places, like on the song "Into Woven Wilds," that the drum sound could use more power and clarity, as perhaps the drum programming shows more in spots like these. The drum patterns are creative in general throughout the album (though it might feel less so during the second half of the album). This album is a worthy successor to the first one, despite arriving just some 14 months later. These two albums are a strong start for them while they prepare for the next phase of the band as Gallows Hymn 2.0. Fans of extreme metal that uses lots of folk/pagan/black melodies and some prog ideas might find a new gem to capture their interest in this Washington state, U.S. band. This is catchier than you may be expecting!

The Age of Decadence by Gallows Hymn