Less than a year ago, Triumphant from Austria were formed out of the ashes of Manic Disease. With exception of the drummer and the recruitment of a second guitar player, the whole Manic Disease line-up is part of this new formation. The guys started writing new material that is comparable to the former stuff (recorded under their former moniker), and recently they were able to sign a two-album deal with Germany’s Cyclone Empire. This first full length will be released on CD though them, with assistance of some other labels: Deathstrike Records for the tape-version, and Heavy Forces Records for the vinyl edition.
The first outcome of this collaboration is Herald The Unsung, which was recorded at the Andreas Hofer Studio with Christian Sander, and mixed and mastered at the famous Temple Of Disharmony Studio with Patrick W. Engel (think: Chaos Echoes, Hellish Crossfire, Abyssous, Desaster, Misery Speaks a.m.o.).
The album, which has a total running time of forty one minutes, opens with an atmospheric, almost Wagnerian intro, called Triumfator. It is also the title of a painting by Czech painter Josef Mandl, and it’s this drawing that adorns this album’s cover.
As from Nachzehrer on, Triumphant bring rather traditional Thrash-edged Black Metal with both atmospheric and (mainly) blasted pieces (and everything in between). The primary is based on thrashing madness from the early days, with repetitive rhythms, melodic leads and changes in speed, mainly varying from a fast tempo to blasting fury. Despite the mostly fierce tempo, there is a lot of variation in melody and speed, and despite the lack of originality, there is a wonderfully high performance level. The songs aren’t that astonishing, but Herald The Unsung as a whole does not irritate. And the addition, finally, of some Speed / Heavy Metal elements (like the high-pitched screams or the several NWOBHM-leads; listen, for example, to closing track Triumphant, with clean [though terrible - it] clean vox and Iron Maiden-stolen lead riffs) is something that gives that little extra to this record.
For fans of: early Possessed, Desaster, old Bathory, Toxic Holocaust, Aura Noir, Destroyer 666, early Kreator, Sodom and Hellish Crossfire.