In the years since its release, Tower’s Shock to the System has grown to be one of my favorite traditional metal albums of the decade thus far. Its rough and ready streetwise NWOBHM worship à la Diamond Head and Di’Anno era Maiden so accurately captured the youthful power of that era, all wrapped up in a collection of kickass tunes with electrifying riffage. It most certainly “held me over” for the better part of a few years, and also left me pondering how Tower would expand upon this direction come album #3. Well folks, we now have our answer in the form of Tower’s latest opus, Let There Be Dark.
True to its title, Let There Be Dark is a DARK traditional metal affair if there ever was one. I’m not saying it’s dark to the extremes of Mercyful Fate or Death SS, but the riffs, atmosphere, production, and lyricism all boast an eerier tone to them, all the while still maintaining that NWOBHM kick. Think a shift in focus from Diamond Head and Di’Anno era Maiden tuneage to the stylings of Satan and Angel Witch, both acts whose uniquely wicked spins on classic metal proved crucially influential on a slew of extreme metal subgenres to follow. This pivot results in what might be Tower’s most fulfilling effort to date.
The album opens in grand fashion, with the hauntingly rich “Under the Chapel” grabbing us by the throat and never letting go. From there, we’re treated to the old school headbanger mania of “Let There Be Dark”, the first of a handful of vertebrae-wrecking ragers scattered about this release. Others that break the speed limit with zeal include “Holy Water” and “Iron Clad”, the latter being the only cut that feels sonically in line with the fare of Shock. The rest of the album stands on its own, assaulting the listener’s senses with one enchantingly possessive slab of traditional metal magick after the next.
Shadowy ballads like “And I Cry” and “Don’t You Say” don’t merely serve as palette cleansers amidst the heaviness, but rather add a new depth to both the album and the band as a whole, rapturing us with otherworldly melodies and a stark balance of light and dark. The over the top “Book of the Hidden” sounds reminiscent of Lucifer if they were informed by the NWOBHM as opposed to the heavy ’70s, in all its cryptic glory. And what better way to round out an affair of this nature than with a full-fledged epic? “The Hammer” (not to be confused with the Motörhead classic) is an epic suite that comes off like a musical battle between Satan and Brocas Helm. Have I got your attention yet?
On Let There Be Dark, Tower took a huge creative risk and it paid off. The performances are powerful. The songs are memorable. The production is on point. Like its two predecessors, Let There Be Dark features everything you’d want in a traditional metal affair, while managing to stand ahead of the pack with its own singular identity. Perhaps Tower will further embrace their newfound fascination with speed and darkness on their eventual fourth full length? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
8 out of 10
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Satan, Angel Witch, Savage Master
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