The last time Tyrant released an album, Clinton was president, Space Jam was new in theaters, and the Ozzfest generation was just coming into fruition. It was a cruel and unforgiving time for true US power metal. But as Midnight famously proclaimed, “You can’t stop steel.” Tyrant arose like a phoenix from the ashes to play the 2009 edition of the Keep it True festival and have been going strong ever since.
The one major difference between Hereafter and previous Tyrant albums is the arrival of new singer, Robert Lowe, who replaced longtime frontman Glen May in 2017. Lowe previously sang for doom metal veterans Solitude Aeturnus, as well as the legendary Candlemass. I wondered if Lowe’s doom roots would influence the album aside from the cover art which looks strikingly similar to that of Candlemass’ Nightfall (1987). They certainly do.
When listening to tracks like “Fire Burns”, Until the Day”, and “When the Sky Falls”, you can’t help but think, “Damn, Tyrant would make a great doom metal band!” I’m not talking about the monotonous two chord droning that constitutes doom today. These guys are old school and take from the playbook of Dio era Sabbath. The title track expands upon this influence with an epic flair reminiscent of Candlemass. “Hereafter” is an eerie dirge with atmospheric acoustic guitars and a dramatic guitar solo that perfectly compliments the slow, trudging riffs.
As much as Hereafter flirts with doom metal, at the end of the day, Tyrant is a US power metal band. And unlike some of their peers, they still got a lot of power left in ’em. The opening “Dancing on Graves” is everything American power metal should be: unforgiving and unrelenting. “Pieces of Mine” is an epic song that features a nod to Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave” halfway through. Finally, there’s “From the Tower”, which closes the album on an anthemic headbanging note.
While the songs and performances are top notch, the biggest thing Hereafter has going for it is its raw 80s style production. The two production trends that plague music today is sounding squeaky clean to the point of sterility or being so loud and compressed that you’ve got a muddy mix where you can’t tell the bass from the guitars. Both have prevented 6’s from being 7’s, 7’s from being 8’s, and so on. Tyrant entrusted their long time producer, Bill Metoyer, to head the mixing board and boy does he hit a grand slam. He also engineered Armored Saint’s self titled EP (1983), Omen’s Battle Cry (1984) and Fates Warning’s Awaken the Guardian (1986). Metoyer doesn’t just know how to capture American steel; he helped shape it.
Hereafter is a rock solid testament to everything that made American power metal great in the 80s: dynamic vocals, massive riffs, and a thundering rhythm section, all coalescing to evoke the feeling of triumph. It may sound outdated, but who cares. Only old school is real. Long live the “Warriors of Metal”, Tyrant!
7 out of 10
Label: Shadow Kingdom Records
Genre: Power Metal
For fans of: Cirith Ungol, Omen, Candlemass