Vhäldemar: Sanctuary Of Death (2024, Independent)
The Spanish quintet Vhäldemar is back with Sanctuary Of Death, their seventh studio album in their two and a half decades that continues the journey right where their previous album Straight To Hell (Fighter Records) left off in 2020. The heavy/power metal project led by vocalist Carlos Escudero and guitarist and also producer Pedro J. Monge, they have managed to reinvent themselves with each album they have released to date since their debut album Fight To The End (Arise Records) which was released in the now distant 2002, charting a constantly booming journey thanks to its combination of classic heavy metal and epic power metal.
From the first bars of Devil’s Child, the song that opens the album, they make it clear what their objective is with Sanctuary Of Death, like the rest of the albums that make up their discography: to devastate everything they find in their path. Great and catchy vocal melodies by Carlos Escudero that combine perfectly with the infectious compositions of guitarist Pedro J. Monge, an explosive combination that results in a very varied album where songs like the overwhelming Deathwalker or the brilliant Heavy Metal manage to become a hole in the hearts of his listeners.
One of the songs where its five components are perfectly aligned and synchronized is without a doubt the title song of the album itself, Sanctuary Of Death. This may be one of their best songs to date where everything is in its place and at the right time, Raúl Serrano‘s bass lines and Jandro Camuñas‘ drums come out completely while keyboardist Jonkol Tera maintains the high level of his previous works since he joined the band in 2017 with the great album Against All Kings (Fighter Records).
Special mention to the seventh installment of his song Old King’s Visions, probably one of the only ones that can rival the spectacular 1366 (Old King’s Visions, Pt. V). The journey of the old king born in 1366 remains valid in the visions of the protagonist of such a musical work with more energy than ever, we can only praise Vhäldemar‘s work once again and his commitment to heavy metal. The beautiful Brothers has earned a place in my heart, that is something I can say with complete freedom, as has the profound The Last Flame whose guitar solo has completely conquered me. What a way to end an album!
In short, Vhäldemar continues to keep the flame of heavy metal alive as it has been doing since its formation in 1999. The quintet from Barakaldo (Basque Country) establishes itself once again as one of the most solid proposals on the metal scene in Spain and rises again their swords bathed in the blood of their enemies while holding their glasses of wine observing the trail of corpses they’ve left behind. If this is not their best album to date it is precisely because Against All Kings still seems to me to be their most notable work, but Sanctuary Of Death is almost there. My deepest congratulations, gentlemen.
