Beyond the Martyrs

Another artist on the Cruz Del Sur label is the band Argus. Their new release “Beyond the Martyr” is set to become a classic in the world of underground metal. At first, I saw the artwork on the cover, and thought this was going to be some brutal death metal. Then I put the cd in and got the surprise of my life. Though, I will admit, it was a pleasant one. This was some pretty damn fine progressive/power/thrash metal. With influences all over the place. This album was a great surprise to me and it just goes to show that there is truth in the saying that you cannot judge a book by its cover.

Influences are amok here and include the likes of: Iron Maiden, Sabbat(uk), King Diamond, Iced Earth, and Hammerfall. As far as the guitars go, the band sticks with the traditional way of doing things. With slightly chuggish riffs on certain parts to riffs that take you off into the horizon in others, the guitar work here is nothing out of the ordinary but its integration with other elements and influences make the work done here is what gives it a unique edge. The drum work, is pretty standard as well but the changes from slow to mid-tempo are precisely on point and give each tune the continuity and fluency they need to deliver the desired effect. I notice on this album that the drums and the guitars complement each other on this album in a way that I don’t believe I’ve heard on any other release. It’s like the band has the drum tracks first and wrote and constructed the riffs around the drum tracks, creating a veil of intrigue that is just begging you to look deeper into the music. I have listened to a lot of metal in my day and I do not ever remember hearing anything similar to this process before. Maybe it’s just more prominent on this cd than on others, but nonetheless, it is there and it will leave you questioning what you will find if you dig deeper.

The vocals really compliment the music nicely. It’s like the vocals from Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Sabbat(uk), are mixed together with a slight “grittiness” thrown in for added effect. They definitely fit with the music and really reach down and grab you by the soul. I sense a lot of emotion in the delivery of the vocals and this causes me to wonder how the band came to decide on this particular vocal pattern and delivery and if they tried others before deciding on this one.

This is another cd that I am glad I had the opportunity to review and it’s bands like this that peak and maintain my interest. I’m not sure if these guys have done a headlining tour yet. But, you can be sure that if they haven’t that they will in the near future. I could even see these guys playing some of the major metal fests all over the world. They would most definitely captivate the audience with their style and delivery. Any and all metal heads should keep an eye out for this band and it is highly recommended that you get this cd as soon as humanly possible. You do not want to miss out on one of the most powerful releases of this year that this genre has to offer.

So, the phenomenon of Argus rumbles on and people are starting to take notice. Not the kind of notice where people are stopping and pointing in the street, it's true, but they are certainly spotting Argus doing their thing and nodding approvingly as they pass by, then writing a letter of support to the local newspaper when they arrive home. If that makes these guys sound a bit sedate and old-fashioned, that's because - at heart - they sort of are. However, despite gaining fans slowly and insidiously, their music cannot be said to kick its heels in the background, not if general musical subtlety is the point in question. In comparison though to notionally exciting yet inherently humdrum acts peddling the same old stuff again and again, Argus have taken their librarian's approach properly and actually put some thought into making the music worthy of attention once some comes along. I got this album mostly on the strength of other reviews for it and have spent more than two years enjoying it without really getting excited. What bears stating, nevertheless, is that during every listen I appreciate Beyond the Martyrs a little bit more and come a little bit closer to actual excitement.

I'm still not standing on my chair and shouting the lyrics of 'Four Candles Burning' to the neighbours, but I feel it's only a matter of decency and sobriety that are holding me back. Regardless of the perpetual mildness of the album, the vocals demand rather more than a perfunctory thumbs up, since Butch Balich roars them out with his utmost effort, sounding just like an Antarctic explorer shouting bravely into the South wind, which is - not coincidentally - what he is doing during the Shackleton-inspired opener 'By Endurance We Conquer'. Balich's voice sounds suitably massive and the guitars that back him up are thick and full in their rhythmic exploits, locking into step with gruff bass on several of the album's staccato grooves, such as the grinding of clockwork gears that moves 'Trinity' swaggeringly onwards. Initially, these kind of tricky doom riffs didn't have me sold, but like I said they really grew on me and I realise now how unusual it is for bands of this ilk to be able to bash about all the different time signatures and mixtures of palm-muting and open string playing that Argus do. The songs often come in on an off-step and lurch convincingly into anthemic sections without any warning, which proves less inevitable than doom in general, twisting their way into focus only after several listens.

Beyond the Martyrs is a slow album, though not an exclusively doomy one. Quicker moments make themselves known during 'The Coward's Path' and parts of 'No Peace Beyond the Line', guitars tangling up into intoxicating trad metal melodic riffs that layer the music with tasty content right down to the luxury bread and butter of the drumming, soaked as it is with juicy fills and tricky rhythms. Argus sound best when they drive forwards rather than pump out deliberately sinister chord sequences like those that fill the first half of the title track, largely because the driving nature of four skilful musicians and big-lunged Balich going at it as one fits the definition of epic down to a tee. Moderate periods of hotting up feature in every track except for the more reflective closer, finishing the album in instrumental style and restating some of the more sombre themes laid out beforehand. Among all these styles, the one ball that Erik Johnson and Jason Mucio never drop is their ability to play leads, several of which are draped across the leisurely mid-pace of most cuts. 'The Hands of Time Are Bleeding' proves most memorable (great title withstanding) due to precisely their attentive floating of a gorgeous repeated lick over the triumphant riff that leads to its powerful outro mantra.

While it would be wrong to assume that I've fallen incontrovertibly in love with Beyond the Martyrs, I can no longer imagine getting tired when listening to the album, nor losing my interest in its eight songs any time in the next decade. It won me over by degrees and revealed its charms gradually, but isn't that just the best way to have your heart stolen - without really noticing? An additional bonus for those not entirely sold on the "slow epic metal" formula promoted here is that Beyond the Martyrs runs at least 10 minutes shorter than any of the three other Argus albums and contains only one song that barely eclipses seven minutes, meaning that the content is much more focused than even the lush From Fields of Fire and the time spent riffing and soloing proportionally higher. Other than a slightly low intensity in places, Argus delivered a terrific effort here.

This album won me over pretty effortlessly but with each passing listen I'm a bit less fond of it. It's still rather good, in places it almost reaches for classic status, but there's just enough tethering this to the ground to keep it from lifting off entirely.

It's certainly a lot of fun, there's no doubt about that. Somewhere between Candlemass and Grand Magus with some super manly, kinda Iced Earth-y vocals. Suffice to say Argus are into being the most masculine band ever conceived, and they mostly succeed. The awkward bridge on 'Peace Beyond the Line' aside, this is a pretty shining example of MAN METAL, big ass angry man vocals, guitars that are permanently grumpy and fairly chuggy, and a tempo that was probably calibrated to be perfect for fist pumping. It works pretty well, there's not really any weak points in the album, the lyrics are decent enough (and suitably manly- Shakleton, Nukes), the production is clean but full.

The problem with this album is that while Argus have an undeniably good formula- big freight-train heavy doom with a lot of dual leads- they basically do exactly the same thing in every tune. Open up with a dual lead. Then a few mid tempo chugging riffs, generally in 3/4, before another dual lead. Now, none of those musical ideas are bad- I'd take catchy dual lead parts over pig squeals- but the end result combined with the consistently middling tempo means the album tends to blend into one big, dead lifts-at-the-gym kind of experience.

All up you feel that these guys probably aren't far away from a reallly great album- Trinity is an a+ doom song, the opener is nicely anthemic, Four Candles is probably their most upbeat song and it's a real banger- but they've just gotta spread their wings a bit more. I'm not saying blastbeats or a 35 minute long drone doom tune, but a few faster moments where that freight train gets out of control and causes complete mayhem would be nice; or perhaps a few really grim doom parts- you just feel like a bit more variety in the songwriting would go a long way.

That said, that said- this is still a good album, and it deserves to have a chance. It's really bombastic, but in a good way- it sounds big and full and virile and it sounds like these guys mean it. The outro to Trinity is chilling and amazing. The vocalist sings his balls off- I'm kinda reminded of the early, blunt force vocals of Blind Guardian before Hansi worried about singing properly, or even black album Hetfield- both of those comparisons are meant as a high compliment. It's not a bad album! It's just a bit of a frustrating one because it does blend together real easily. I recommend this, and I'll be checking out their other stuff too.

So here we have the album that I deemed to be the best metal album of 2013, Argus' third album Beyond the Martyrs, so I guess it's about time I give it a proper review. This band formed in 2005 and have released three albums. I just happen to discover them in the latter part of 2013 with this album and am I glad I did. This is true metal if ever there was. And I'm not talking about loin cloth Manowar true metal. I'm talking riffs, dual lead riffs, monster solos and melodies. They border on doom a bit but I would not call them a doom band. They just play good old heavy metal that would not have been out of place coming out along side of Maiden's self titled in '81.

This band knows how to write a song that just sucks you in. The opener is an epic number entitled "By Endurance We Conquer" and is just huge. The riffs are crushing right from the start and the dual lead riffs are just classic. "Butch" Balich is a monster of a vocalist not trying to hit every range known to man, but soaring and epic vocals that almost reminds me of Harry Conklin. This band ain't fuckin' around here. This song has some time changes and hooks that make the playing time of 6:33 just go by. Sometimes I repeat this song just because it seems to go by so fast. The guitar work is just godly. The solos are classy and melodic. They take me back to when heavy metal was new and fresh and even though this band surely is old school this is not a stale re-hash. This is timeless music. "No Peace Beyond the Line" is another riff fest using the lead riffs to provide the melodies then the huge riffs that take you into the verse are just crushing. Again, the solos are soaring and melodic and do not rely on just the technical use of scales but instead have feeling and soul. Check out the solos on the title track and album closer. This is an instrumental that shows just how good these guys are and the raw emotion that is in each and every song on this album.

It seems that every song on this album is epic with time changes and catchy melodies as well as being heavy. This band doesn't rely on being fast and furious but instead rely on their strengths as songwriters to create meticulously constructed songs. The intro lead riff on "The Hands of Time are Bleeding," for instance, has a strange rhythm to is but is precise in it's execution leading to a crushing doomy main riff. Again, the vocals are just perfect as they soar with such passion. "Trinity" starts off with doom riffs and could be a doom metal song as it's slower and the main riff is crushing. "The Coward's Path" has a classic Sabbath feel to it and is another doomy number. Mr. Iommi should have listened to this song before writing "13" because maybe then it wouldn't have been a snooze fest! This song is more Sabbath than Sabbath. In contrast to the doom, we have "Four Candles Burning" is faster with more dual lead riffs and a melody that just draws you in. I get lost listening to songs like this on the album. Even if this is one of the shorter songs on the album, it's epic nonetheless. If I were to point out a favorite song it would have to be "Cast Out All Raging Spirits" (can these guys come up with great song titles, or what?). This song is just massive with riffs, melodies, and solos...this is what metal should be.

I absolutely love every song on this album. There hasn't been an album that has been this good and this magical in a very long time. There is a reason that I called this the best metal album of 2013...because no other release could touch it.


http://elitistmetalhead.blogspot.com/

I've long suspected that one of the main causes of fewer classic albums being made from the early 90's onwards was the advent of the CD and bands feeling the need to add to a longer running time with pointless filler. Longer albums do certainly have their place, and with that in mind it might seem strange for Argus, an American band whose reputation til now has been based on their savvy for the more epic tropes of Metal, to make an album a full 12 minutes shorter than either of their 2 previous long-players. This shouldn't be seen as laziness however, or an abandonment of their roots, but rather a concerted return to the long-ago tried and tested ways of writing albums. Beyond The Martyrs seemingly was written with the vinyl format in mind as it offers up 2 perfectly balanced sides of 21 minutes and an album flow that brings to mind the compositional perfection of records like Heaven And Hell, Number Of The Beast and Melissa. Combined with unique and characterful artwork from Brad Moore (returning to his more vibrant style seen on Argus' début and the Züül albums) and wall to wall brilliantly-written tracks this makes an instant modern classic- one of the few true titans of Metal albums to be released so far this century.

“By Endurance We Conquer” opens with a rousing intro and some of Butch Balick's strongest vocals to date that get straight to the thrust, but still building enough anticipation through two verses before that glorious chorus bursts through- pure Manowar-esque steadfastness from the lyrics and an absolute masterclass in how to pen an exciting album/live set opener without burning out too quickly. Invigorating, controlled, restrained and masterful- it sets the town for what is a damn near faultless record, a standard continued by “No Peace Beyond The Line” which neatly sums up everything this band is about. Starting off with a doomed-out Black Rose-era Lizzy-style riff the verse gallops along on the back of that excellent vocal line, a defiant streak is hammered home by that chorus lyric, leading to a rockin' solo and repeat. No excess, the pure simplistic essence of Metal- this is the stuff of classics.

“The Hands Of Time Are Bleeding” is a monumental vocal performance and carries one of the band's catchiest and most emotional hooks to date, but one that in no way overshadows the rest of this excellent album, whilst “Trinity” slows everything down with those big, crunchy riffs and allows Butch's vocals to lead rather than follow for a change. Comparisons to recent Grand Magus are well-reasoned but this honestly slays all the competition- if Twilight Of The Gods had have been able to spend as long together jamming as a unit as Argus had this may well have been what their debut could have come out sounding like.

Kicking off the second half of this album “Four Candles Burning” is everything you could ask for from a side 2 track 1, keeping this 42 minute sonic journey on track with it's killer solo before everything is taken down in tempo again by “The Coward's Path.” A likeness to Candlemass has never been stronger here in spite of Butch's gravel tones being quite different from Längquist, and a healthy dose of Iron Maiden's Killers is delivered in the more up-tempo moments here as well. Dud tracks simply aren't in Argus' playbook, their sense of quality and pristine songwriting here doesn't slip up even for one moment.

Everything is wrapped up by the fantastic double-whammy of the thunderous and dramatic “Cast Out All Raging Spirits” and the closing instrumental title track, both of which cement the harmonising guitar duo of Erik Johnson and Jason Mucio as quite possibly the best of their generation at what they do. The perfect conclusion to a damn near perfect album. [10]

From WAR ON ALL FRONTS A.D. 2013 zine- www.facebook.com/waronallfronts

Having read of Argus' name through trustworthy sources deep in the metal underground, from the kind of people who know a proper good heavy metal band when they hear one, my interest in this rising American troupe was well-founded by a couple of listens to 2011's "Boldly Stride the Doomed" before "Beyond the Martyrs" arrived in my inbox. Taking their name from Greek mythology, Argus play an epically-tinged modern take on the classic heavy metal mould - infact, allow me to use 'true metal' without conjuring up images of sword-wealding johnny-come-latelies, for musically (and visually) Argus are so much more than this. Positioned close to the equally true and under-recognised Slough Feg the music of Argus is carefully constructed around driving lead riffs, evidently identifiable song structures of chorus, verse and lead and Butch Balich's masculine, strong vocals. For a more widely known comparator think Grand Magus, both in the vocal departments where strength and power rein and how the classic metal of both never descends into the kind of self-defeating parody that is the bane of countless power/heavy metal bands clogging up the summer festival line-ups each year.

After a delicate opening in which a lead guitar wails atop a passage of clean chords, "By Endurance We Conquer" bursts into life with the kind of change in tempo that a) shows this band mean business, and b) know how to write a blistering song, albeit by way of significant influence from one Iron Maiden. What follows when Balich frees his pipes with "1914 and four years from England" is the onset of one of the best songs you or I will hear in metal this year; the natural flow through the solo and group vocals in the chorus is sensational while the drum performance is spot on to accompany those galloping Maiden-esque rhythms. In terms of fist-pumping openers to an album it really doesn't get any better than this.

Successor "No Peace Beyond the Line" gives itself some breathing space before launching into another piledriving riff, the type that on first listen will instantly grab anyone with a passing interest in metal in what feels like a eulogy direct from unseeing gods of metal. "The Hands Of Time Are Bleeding" forms around a slower, doom tempo that recalls the construction of epic Candlemass "Nightfall" era cuts before flourishing with a collection of subtly intricate dual guitar leads towards the end. After such a forceful duo the album dips in quality slightly, but only slightly, for as Balich opens "Trinity" with "We reached into the obscure to change the course of the world" you start to get the sense that "Beyond the Martyrs" has the potential the change the course of the metal world at least. Take the intricate structures of each song, noticing how each seems to last longer than they really are and such a volume of rewarding riffs and you will start to understand all the praise.

Argus' classic metal influences shine through on "Four Candles Burning" where the natural flow of the chorus lines sets my brain to work comparing it to classic Dio and Maiden material, while "The Coward's Path" initially resembles the lead tendencies of Týr before breaking into another pounding riff so good it would stand out on any Candlemass record. The vigour which dominated the early part of the record (or side A for vinyl fetishists) is brought down to earth by this track and the closing title track, although "Cast Out All Raging Spirits" in the middle of this sandwich cannot go without mention - it's early uptempo soloing leads cleanse the soul in the manner espoused in the lyrical theme.

Formulated at the perfect length, absolutely devoid of any filler and produced with each instrument free to speak and generate the band an identity of their own there is no wonder I sing so highly of "Beyond the Martyrs". Other acts in recent years have been capable of putting together elements of this for a handful of songs only, but to hear an album with such consistency is rare. What impression Argus will make in the wider metal landscape is questionable when the average fan seems to show no interest in imagination or such bloody integrity but if one day everyone wakes up to listen to those underground few singing Argus' praises they will find a classic record waiting in the name of "Beyond the Martyrs".

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net