out now: Chalice -- melodic, prog, arcane classic-style heavy metal from Finland

Chalice is traditional heavy metal with melodies and with a broad sense of the classics embedded in the music, but it is not retro 1980s heavy metal. It's something a bit more mysterious, a bit more cult, and you can hear in various ways some reflection of 1970s progressive/heavy rock (perhaps, it's those melodies!). For instance, this does not sound like 80s Judas Priest/Accept-derived music. Therefore, it is traditional melodic metal with a certain folky, proggy, 1970s vibe of arcane, mysterious, obscure sensibilities. Apparently, they have been together for four years and this is their debut album following their 2019 EP. While fans of melodic metal might be the main audience, there is the potential that more fans could find their "other" elements very interesting. It's not strange, not experimental, though there is a vintage element to it all. -Metal Bulletin Zine

CHALICE - "Trembling Crown"

High Roller Records

VÖ: 11. Dez. 2020 (CD) / 8. Jan. 2021 (LP)

ABOUT: Knowing their debut single “Silver Cloak”, you don’t expect CHALICE to join mass of mostly faceless classic metal parvenus that keep popping up throughout Scandinavia with their first full-length. If anything, “Trembling Crown” thickly underlines the fact that the Finns have been a tad more playful and inventive than their contemporaries ever since they started out in 2016. With songs composed during the last five years, the album is both a condensation of how the group has developed and a harbinger of exciting things to come, wrapped up in an aptly mysterious narrative by guitarist and storyteller Verneri, whose voice reminds of late icons such as Pagan Altar's Terry Jones or Mark Shelton from Manilla Road. In the same way, the quartet seems to be comfortable amid these two legends also from a stylistic point of view. The record as such showcases what’s possible in terms of variety within this genre. For example, the epic ‘Stars’ filters Wishbone Ash’s “Argus” through proverbial cracks of doom, complete with vintage synthesizer sounds, tempo changes and lead breaks galore, while the title song sports a Flamenco interlude, all confirming the exceptional status of these youngsters. To sum it up in more biblical terms, you should not “let this CHALICE pass” from you.

Trembling Crown by CHALICE