Independent metal band Discretion is set to release its latest album Friday. The album, Iron Times, is scheduled for release through Masscare records and will come more than five years after the release of the band’s then latest album, End of Days. What will be the band’s eighth overall studio recording and at least its sixth album, the 10-song record proves itself an interesting addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums. That is due at least in part to its featured musical arrangements, which will be discussed shortly. The lyrical content that accompanies the record’s musical content is of its own interest and will be examined a little later. The record’s production rounds out its most important elements, considering the heaviness of the musical arrangements. Keeping that in mind, it will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of Iron Times. All things considered they make Iron Times a presentation that deserves to be heard at least once among metal fans.
Iron Times, the latest studio recording from Discretion, is a presentation that the metal amasses will find an interesting offering from the independent metal outfit. That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements. From beginning to end, the arrangements blend elements of death, thrash and southern sludge metal to make for a variety of intriguing, unique metal compositions. The record’s single, ‘God of War’ for instance, immediately lends itself to comparison to works from the likes of Crowbar, what with the guttural vocals and heavy, plodding drums, bass and guitar. The Crowbar comparison is actually inescapable through much of the record’s arrangements, though there are variations on the overall arrangements even with that comparison present throughout the album. Case in point is the early entry, ‘Steel Legions.’ That same heavy, plodding approach is there, but the variation on the sound and style is just subtle enough to work and give the song its own identity. The thick, heavy wall of sound that the band creates here could actually be compared slightly to Sepultura circa the early to mid-1990s here. Perhaps the most notable of the changes in the record’s musical content comes in the late entry, ‘Maschinekrieg.’ Roughly translated, the title—which is German – means ‘Machine War.’ The Sepultura comparison rises again, but it stands on its own apart from the sludge metal sounds that are more prominent throughout the album. The machine gun fast snare drum blasts and bass drum blasts (no pun intended) pair with the screaming vocals to make the death/thrash metal approach here hit so hard. It is an arrangement in this case that is certain to engage and entertain audiences. When this arrangement and the others examined here are considered along with the rest of the album’s musical content, the whole gives the album’s musical body reason enough to take in this record among true metal fans.
The musical arrangements that make up one half of Iron Times are just part of what makes the album worth hearing. The lyrical content that accompanies that musical content adds to the record’s overall appeal. From beginning to end, the album’s overarching lyrical theme is one of war. That is not to say that the band is trying to emulate the likes of Sabaton by any means. Rather, the band takes on the matter of war and what is has caused among the human race throughout history. That goes all the way back to ancient times, as is evidenced in ‘Blood Ritual’ and ‘Bringer of Demise.’ ‘Blood Ritual’ seems to address the disturbing blood rituals of the Mayan civilization and how troubling that behavior was and still is. In the matter of ‘Bringer of Demise,’ this song seems to address the conflict between the Romans and the worshippers of the god Baal. Again, the military reference is here, just in its own unique fashion; a fashion that is totally separate from that of any of the albums’ other songs. On another note, a song, such as ‘Steel Legions’ addresses the use of tanks in warfare and their destructive power. It leans in a similar fashion to ‘God of War,’ which according to guitarist Sebastian Schilling, is on the possibility that military conflict can happen anytime around the world “even if no one wants it.” Again, this lends itself to the overall theme of the destructive power of war and the concern about its role and impact on humans. Keeping all of this in mind, the overall lyrical content is not unfamiliar to metal fans, but is still interesting in how Discreation used it to establish the other half of this album. When it is paired with the album’s pummeling musical arrangements, that overall content gives audiences even more reason to take in this record at least once.
The overall musical and lyrical content featured in Discreation’s new album is a big part of what makes the album worth hearing at least once, but is also just part of what makes the record interesting. The album’s production is of its own note, too. The production is so important because of how heavy and loud this record proves to be from its opener to its finale. There is so much heaviness in every arrangement, making each composition really a wall of heavy sound that is fully immersive. It would have been so easy for the band to allow all of that heaviness to cause the album to get muddied down in itself. Thankfully that did not happen. Instead each musician’s performance complimented those of his band mates in each work. The result is that the album’s overall general effect proves just as positive as the record’s content. Keeping that in mind, the production teams with the content in general to complete Iron Times’ presentation and make it a new addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums worth hearing at least once.
Iron Times, the forthcoming new album from Discreation, is a presentation that the band’s established audiences and metal fans alike will find worth hearing at least once. That is proven in part through its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements blend elements of sludge metal, death and thrash to make the album’s overall musical body so intense. The arrangements’ stylistic approaches are similar from one to the next, but the sounds change just enough from one to the next to keep things interesting. The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical content are important because while different in each song, follow the central seeming theme of addressing the futility of war and the impact of military conflict on the world. That lyrical heaviness and the album’s musical heaviness join to give listeners reason enough to take in this record. The album’s production puts the finishing touch to its presentation, giving the record a positive general effect overall. That effect works with the album’s content to complete the album’s presentation and show once more just what makes the album engaging and entertaining. Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of Iron Times. All things considered they make Iron Times an intriguing addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums.
Iron Times is scheduled for release Friday through Massacre Records. More information on the album is available along with all of Discreation’s news at:
Website: https://www.discreation.de/en/
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