Asylum Pyre – Call Me Inhuman
Release Date: 24th March 2023
Label: Self Released
Pre-Save
Genre: Power Metal, Traditional Metal, Folk Metal.
FFO: Beneath My Sins, Illuminata, Xiphea, Weeping Silence.
Review By: Mark Waight
As a rule, French Metal bands are just so cool, and Asylum Pyre are definitely no exception. Call Me Inhuman is Asylum Pyre’s Fifth full length studio album and is a perfect demonstration of a band that are on the rise and constantly refining and improving their sound. Call Me Inhuman explores new horizons, both harder and softer than previous offerings, whilst still maintaining the wind of change that is currently influencing all that is Metal. With Call Me Inhuman, Asylum Pyre have created a perfect mix of Modern and Traditional Metal with a superior blend of power, melody and emotion.
Asylum Pyre is Johann Cadot (guitars, vocals), Ombeline Duprat (vocals), Pierre-Emmanuel Pelisson (guitars), Fabien Mira (bass) and Thomas Calegari (drums).
Virtual Guns opens and closes to the beautiful sound of a Norse horn calling out from the fjords before bursting into life. It then blends other traditional folk elements such as bagpipes with modern heavy metal, along with delivering a fabulously catchy chorus. The momentum continues with Fighters, an electro-industrial Metal track, but with a potent modern streak and a nod to the old school days with a very sweet guitar solo.
There is a lovely acoustic Spanish guitar opening to The True Crown (I seek your war) before we are gradually drawn into an emotional song that vocally flirts with both the dark and light side through harsh and clean passages. The super cool Happy Deathday is a totally unique song where 1920s Parisian Jazz meets modern hard rock to create the like of which I have never heard before. Check it out!
There, I Could Die is the latest single to be released from the album and is a fist-pumping, sing-along track which showcases everything that makes Asylum Pyre a standout band in the current Power Metal genre. Wicked!
There are plenty of old school metal echoes in Sand Paths along with some wonderful operatic and choral vocal sections. The heavy riff and guitar playing are absolutely subline, this is Metal how it should be played. The Nowhere Dance was also released as a single, although in truth every single track on this superb album could equally stand alone. This is traditional Metal with a super catchy chorus that will have you hooked and joining in with the band.
A Teacher, a Scientist and a Diplomat sounds like the opening to a corny joke, but in this case it’s the title of a very modern and funky metal sound with a banging rhythm and a dash of attitude. Underneath Heartskin is a cracking song with a heady cocktail of folk, modern and traditional metal entwined around some very atmospheric vocals giving it a super depth in sound.
The Mad Fiddler burns as hot as Nero’s Rome with its smoking pace, full on rock vocals and glorious finger destroying guitar work. If I had to pick a favourite track, then this is it, but it’s a very tight race. Joy is a surprisingly heavy and dark song with an ultra-slow pace to begin with before eventually heating up a bit, although the message remains the same throughout. The brutal vocals add to the authenticity by generating a deeply gloomy twist to the melancholy ambience.
Title song and closing track Call Me Inhuman is a feel-good curtain closer that is guaranteed to leave you baying for more. It is almost an a cappella tune with only the bagpipes, Norse horn and a minimal hint of percussion to accompany the outstanding male/female vocals.
I am already a fan of Asylum Pyre, but I believe Call Me Inhuman should and will add many more converts to their fan base. Call Me Inhuman is a super slick, solid 12 track album with each song offering something that little bit different to keep the listener intrigued. So, if you are a fan of Modern Power Metal then check out Call Me Inhuman, it’s très bon!!!
(4.5 / 5)
