Cwn Annwn is a band that you need to know. Period. Pronounced Coon-uh-NOON (Loosely translating as “The Hounds of Hell” in Welsh mythos according to their bio), the St. Paul quintet is delivering the most solid of shreds with the most ferocious and dynamic lead singer on Patron Saint.
As “Patron Saint” rumbles to life with a tremor-inducing low end from Mike Strohkirch accented by dual guitar attacks from Neil James and Harry Rostovtsev, listeners will instantly realize that Cwn Annwn is anything but your typical Metal outfit. That sentiment rings even more true when Julie Schultz’s vocals come in to provide a heavenly counterpart to the sonic mayhem being constructed around her.
“Outlander” follows and is so huge with this huge wall of riffs like Rammstein’s recently released “Deutschland” crumbling into a Killswitch Engage-like metal fury topped by Schultz’s poignant and anthemic cries during the chorus. The track truly answers the question of if Paramore decided to ever go heavy with these great Ozzy moments (Think No More Tears) complete with Zakk Wylde-style guitar god worship solos.
“It Will Come From The Sea” shreds relentlessly as this ethereal rawker shows off the Cwn Annwn storytelling strength amidst a headbanger’s delight while “God Of Needles” similarly implores listeners to bang their head relentlessly as this masterfully crafted rawker injects some Prog pounding from Strohkirch with Schultz crooning and showing off more of her range.
“Brita’s Vale” (And Strohkirch’s bass work in “Outlander”) easily put Cwn Annwn in the running for the Mudvayne mach 2 crown (Prog Metal 2.0) while “Course Of Obliteration” is the most perfect rawker with James and Rostovtsev’s guitars forming a united front of the almighty shred. “Ice From The Sun” gets its’ Prog on yet again as Schultz’s vox fade to the background with Strohkirch’s screams taking the lead to take the band into a blistering and beastly other realm to conclude the album.
Patron Saint is out now. You can grab your very own copy right now by clicking here. For more on Cwn Annwn, follow them here or here.
One Response
My Greatest compliment is they might B the first I can compare 2 a good attempt at “BabyMetal” Worship (Need more Growling & subliminal hooks … But DAMN From MN (Impressed) Babymetal being 11 on the scale (4 a Local Unsigned (I give a strong 7+) Just a few more studio trick & tweets moves into the 9n’z … But the name A DEAL BREAKER/BAND KILLER/I forgot it already – some shit with double zz’s <I – I – IDUNO) Metaldad2112