At the start of 2014, Whorion teased us with their first release in the form of an excellent EP entitled Fall Of Atlas and now they’re back with their debut full-length album – The Reign Of The 7th Sector.
The Reign Of The 7th Sector is a very mighty release that shows Whorion firing from all cylinders, featuring brutal heaviness coupled up with just the right amount of melody and it makes for a perfect blend. From the relentless drums to the hammering guitars, right up to the powerful vocals and sublime symphonic moments, everything is meticulously slotted into its rightful place and it subsequently makes for a very tight and well-constructed album as a whole.
A particularly good example of this is second track When The Moon Bled, an adventurous track that is a real high point of the album. The introduction hits you like a tonne of bricks right from the get-go, with the guitars and drums almost being pitted against each other, and then when the vocals get added into the mix, the track gains even more momentum. From then, things just snowball until Whorion reaches fever pitch and everything gets stripped back for a brief moment before a powerful symphonic instrumental section kicks in and it’s crushingly stunning, to say the least.
Another strong point is the recurring melodies and ideas that are interwoven across its entire duration, and the two instrumental tracks work particularly well in getting the points across, really ensuring that certain melody lines get stuck in your head and rattle about in your mind long after the album has come to a close. Each track on The Reign Of The 7th Sector is distinct in its own right, yet it also flows like one continuous song thanks to the melodies interwoven from track to track.
Things come to a head with the epic closer Arrival Of Coloss, a song that sums up everything that’s great about the album and it makes for a truly triumphant ending. The introduction slowly builds things up until the full band kicks in and there’s some wonderfully technical guitar lines before the vocals get added to the mix and everything progresses well from there before it comes to an abrupt end and leaves the listener with echoing ambience, giving them time to digest everything.
One minor nuance with the album is that fourth track Blood Of The Weak does sounds a little similar to Vortex Of The Dead from their Fall Of Atlas EP at certain points, but it’s still a great track in its own right and aside from that, this is an album that is jam-packed full of potential and to think that this is only their debut full-length is jaw dropping. Some might say the sky is the limit – and with The Reign Of The 7th Sector, Whorion have certainly landed amongst the stars.
9/10
