Here’s the second full-length album from Smoulder, one of the leading bands in the epic metal movement that’s been steadily gaining steam over the past few years. I really enjoyed their debut, and album number two is very much in the same mold of huge riffs you can sink your teeth into, plenty of echo-soaked atmosphere and plenty of sword and sorcery imagery (and once again featuring some stunning cover art). I think the songwriting, which wasn’t as memorable as I would have liked on the debut, is perhaps a little less memorable this time around as, even after several listens, none of the songs have stuck in my head though I enjoy them mightily while they are on. The vocals are again strong and somewhat distinctive (which is typically a good thing) but I feel like singer Sarah Ann Kitteringham has found a few lines she really likes and goes back to them time and time again and this contributes to the songs sounding too similar to one another. What I cannot argue with, despite my reservations, is how good at putting me in the middle of the battle Smoulder is. Every musician sounds like they have laid it all on the table on every track and it is hard not to get swept up into the fray, even if I can’t remember a lot of the details. Perhaps Violent Creed of Vengeance is no worse than Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring and my expectations for their second album were higher than warranted and, as a result, it feels a bit pale in comparison to how hard the debut hit me. Mileage will likely vary, but I can still recommend it to all fans of Eternal Champion, Gatekeeper, Megaton Sword, et al.
