Dare the Heavens

I found out about Mithril after listening to Galar and noticing the drummer was in a previous band and being the LOTR junkie that I am, I had to check it out. Having not much exposure and noteriety, Mithril have a second self-released demo showcasing their unique brand of hard rock influenced power/thrash metal. The slower moments and vocals remind me of something you could find on a hard rock band but at the same time, with the back up vocal arrangements and singing it could easily fit in with a power metal band.

After checking them out, I was expecting a sound like Galar or Windir with a heavier power/thrash vibe but it's certainly nothing like Viking influenced metal; instead the riffing and song structure style is something like a tradtional Teutonic power metal band mixed with more thrashy elements bringing in a powerful sound that you'd find in bands along Paragon's line. This exactly doesn't sound like Paragon or Grave Digger, but something along what you would find if they offshot themselves with more elements brought in like, more melodic vocals and slower "Viking metal" moments.

The best song on this 4 song demo is Dare the Heavens with song excellent vocals and great riffing that kick starts off right away and leads into a good headbang fest and then into a slower middle section. There is almost a mini-"metal"-breakdown type right after the slower middle acoustic/melodic section with the riffing pattern of a breakdown but it's certainly not -core at all; it's decent. Almost the Same follows a similar pattern with very melodic and power metal-esque singing during the chorus ranging into more faster and slightly more powerful vocals during the faster riffing and such.

Mithril have done a decent job at putting out some metal on their self-released demos, but I'd like to see them stick more with the heavier moments and more upbeat riffing and the overall fast sound instead of moving into the slower acoustic/overly melodic moments. There are hardly any highlight lead guitar moments and for a "power/speed/thrash" metal band guitar solos are essential, so I'd like to see a lot more powerful solos that pack a punch. I'd also like to see more of a LOTR influence, with song themes or something but it's still something enjoyable adding more to the theme. This is an enjoyable listen, but there are plenty more things that could be added into this and be a more mature and professional sound, but they're on the right track and I'd look forward to a signing and full length.