StormbounD – December

StormbounD – December
Release Date: 5th August 2022
Label: Self Released
Pre-Order
Genre: Symphonic Metal, Gothic Metal, Melodic Metal.
FFO: Eleine, Lacuna Coil, Semblant, Mayan.
Review By: Mark Waight

December is the highly anticipated debut album from Israeli Metal band, StormbounD. Formed in Tel Aviv in 2018 by bassist Pavel Kleinman and guitarist/vocalist Ofer Friedman, they were subsequently joined by guitarist Shani Friedman (Ofers wife), drummer Yuval Partush, Keyboard player Rotem Sadia and lead singer Yael Horwitz. The band are very well-established playing metal events and festivals in their native Israel, but are now beginning to build a fan base further afield.  The band are very much living up to their name and beginning to create a storm in the metal world with several exciting song/video releases taken from this album and by demonstrating that metal is very much thriving in parts of the world where we maybe wouldn’t necessarily expect it too. These are exciting days indeed, and StormbounD have a great future.

Desert’s Roar is a heavy, atmospheric and symphonic opener, which lavishes the listener with some lovely contrasting vocals and harmonies before switching the tone on Alter of Innocence. Said track is a much darker vibe with a more haunting atmosphere created using light (female) and dark (male) vocals, some exceptional moody guitar work and synths. Sacred Lies then speeds things up with a more energetic opening and an extremely heavy bass riff, which is complimented by some aggressive vocals. 

Away from Here slows things down and comes with a softer melody, some sublime piano playing and an excellent guitar solo, although vocally I’m not sure it completely works throughout the whole song. Title track December is a ten-minute epic saga which showcases the bands vast wealth of talent and ability. It is musically superb and vocally excellent, with even some great growls included into the mix.

Shadows is the standout track for me, Yael’s vocals are simply beautiful creating something very, very special indeed and the stunning guitar playing further enhances the emotions making it a real heartbreaker of a song.

Flying High has a real Celtic/folk metal feel about it with a definite nod to a more traditional heavy metal sound, I loved the twist in style, giving us another side of StormbounD. Penultimate track Fragments is a song with an authentic middle eastern flavour and a more modern melodic metal sound creating a definite contrast to the preceding track, although it still does contain some more traditional elements. Childs Play is the awesome closing track, played at a high tempo it creates a great climax to the whole album and the listener wanting more.

December is a great debut album, with plenty of elements to get your teeth into. I wouldn’t be surprised to see StormbounD featured in with the best newcomers of 2022 in this genre.

(3.5 / 5)