Review by JD on December 1, 2011.

I hear something that sends my soul into pleasure? Hearing the very distinctive drums, intense shredding metallic guitars and perfectly exicuted and unabashed vocals. Metal reigns... good, old school and in your face kick the shit out of everyone else metal. Gotta tell you that sounds damned good right now.

Fuelled by the passion and need to make Power/Speed Metal that would make every metallic heart lift the horns in respect, Germany’s Stormwarrior brings the old school into the new metal millennium. Known for years as one of the elite metal bands in their homeland, they have been pretty much unknown over here in North America. What I have heard here, and have experienced on this CD... I smile and raise a beer.

"Heathen Warrior" is this the bands fourth full release (having four ep's, two demos and a live one) finally shows us here in the west just what metal is. Songs such as the potent riffs of 'Fyre And Ice' or the memorable title track shows this band does bring the passion and might of old school into the new age with pride... because they never lost any of the fire or passion that was once there. Coupled by the fact that they have talent and desire, Stormwarrior is the perfect band to bring the old into the new.

The production was not as good as I thought it needed to be, but hearing the material I seem to be alright with it. Stormwarrior has a album here that begs to be heard. If you have anybody new to metal get them this album. It teaches just where metal has come from, and shows us where the hell it is going... not to mention why it is here in the first place. It my be a old school but it does not feel like it is. Just feels real to me.
Enough said... need beer now.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8.5
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Michael on February 14, 2022.

So here we go with the second EP Nos Prières by French one-man project Prieuré. Again a very appealing artwork invites the listener to a trip into the abysses of French black metal and again you won't be disappointed. No keyboard or acoustic intro is needed, the hateful maelstrom of blood (or is it a dry Bordeaux?) pulls you down and spits you out after almost 22 minutes of disturbing, fast-witching black metal.

It is not quite dissonant music that mastermind Sans-Visage presents though there are some parts that remind me of the well-known French band with the Greek letter in its name but all in all it is quite a unique release. The vocal on Nos Prières is – as it already was on La Foi Des Bourreaux- very distorted and aggressive and the guitars and drums also sometimes go into some punk direction again. What I really like on this EP is the fact that you cannot find some black metal tunes only but also some acoustic guitar parts that give you some space to relax. I guess if there would be just these black metal songs, it would be a very exhausting trip and very hard to follow until the end. The production is quite okay for an independent release; maybe the instruments are a little bit overdriven so that there is some white noise in it but it may be intentional, too. Of course, I want to go into detail for some of the five tracks: The second track 'Sacrifiés' is a really catchy one because of its simple structures and what I really like in it are the female vocals that somewhat create a slight ghastly atmosphere. 'Nos Prièrs', the opener, however is a really fast and uncompromising black metal track with some very interesting breaks that will convince every old school black metal fan. 'Amérique' starts as a very calm acoustic guitar driven track that creates nevertheless a quite uncomfortable atmosphere. And after about 1:30 minutes this quite ugly caterpillar turns into a skull hawk moth, to be metaphorical.

I would state that Prieuré went the next logical step with this album. Sans-Visage did little bit more experimental stuff and quite an interesting approach of songwriting. May the first full-length come soon!

Rating: 8 out of 10 Mouton-Cadet

Review by Michael on February 14, 2022.

So here we go with the second EP Nos Prières by French one-man project Prieuré. Again a very appealing artwork invites the listener to a trip into the abysses of French black metal and again you won't be disappointed. No keyboard or acoustic intro is needed, the hateful maelstrom of blood (or is it a dry Bordeaux?) pulls you down and spits you out after almost 22 minutes of disturbing, fast-witching black metal.

It is not quite dissonant music that mastermind Sans-Visage presents though there are some parts that remind me of the well-known French band with the Greek letter in its name but all in all it is quite a unique release. The vocal on Nos Prières is – as it already was on La Foi Des Bourreaux- very distorted and aggressive and the guitars and drums also sometimes go into some punk direction again. What I really like on this EP is the fact that you cannot find some black metal tunes only but also some acoustic guitar parts that give you some space to relax. I guess if there would be just these black metal songs, it would be a very exhausting trip and very hard to follow until the end. The production is quite okay for an independent release; maybe the instruments are a little bit overdriven so that there is some white noise in it but it may be intentional, too. Of course, I want to go into detail for some of the five tracks: The second track 'Sacrifiés' is a really catchy one because of its simple structures and what I really like in it are the female vocals that somewhat create a slight ghastly atmosphere. 'Nos Prièrs', the opener, however is a really fast and uncompromising black metal track with some very interesting breaks that will convince every old school black metal fan. 'Amérique' starts as a very calm acoustic guitar driven track that creates nevertheless a quite uncomfortable atmosphere. And after about 1:30 minutes this quite ugly caterpillar turns into a skull hawk moth, to be metaphorical.

I would state that Prieuré went the next logical step with this album. Sans-Visage did little bit more experimental stuff and quite an interesting approach of songwriting. May the first full-length come soon!

Rating: 8 out of 10 Mouton-Cadet

Review by Yener on May 25, 2019.

When you think of black metal, Alabama isn't really one of the first places that comes to mind. However, a lot of people seem to forget that music is a universal language, and it doesn't matter where you're from to play and master a particular style. So, I was that much more excited when I learned that these guys weren't from Norway or Sweden.

I knew absolutely nothing about this band before I listened to this album. After running a bit of a background check, I can see that the two musicians on this album, Bryan and Jarvis, have been at it for quite a while, and have put their names on a number of releases. That alone set my expectations on the higher end of the spectrum as quality musicianship is not something I enjoy, but something I expect when listening to music, no matter what genre.

And this album, Apophis, does not disappoint. The level of musicianship is high, and the songwriting is mature and has a nice depth to it. The drums sound nice and organic and raw - a clear "fuck you" to the over triggered kits we are so used to hearing in modern metal. The cymbals sound like actual cymbals, and they placed nicely in the mix. It's strange how we usually tend to overlook these things, even though they are the most basic things when it comes to recording music. Drums that sound like drums - who would have thought?

While the guitar sound is not bad, it's not great, either. That's just my opinion, I would have preferred a bit of a meatier tone on this album. But the overall sound when mixed with the drums is good. It's clear enough, and loud enough. I guess they went with what they felt best, and I can totally respect that. Because no matter how great your guitar tone is, if it doesn't work well in the mix, then you simply don't use it and fit what does. That said, the overall sound and mix on the album is raw, but still very nice and organic. It sounds like actual humans playing the instruments, which is a very warm welcome if you ask me. The album sounds like it was recorded in the late 90's - and to me, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

While the band is classified as black metal, and they certainly do have black metal riffs and sounds, they also offer so much more than that. If I were to compare them to another band, or who they remind me of, I would have to say Emperor. There's certainly no resemblance to bands like Marduk or Infernal War on here. Passion of Death is more mid-tempo, they don't really use speed and sheer power to get their point across, but instead they use different approach to arranges which makes everything a bit more interesting. I personally really, really loved the acoustic interludes in the songs, and actually, they are my favorite sections on the entire album. Jarvis is certainly a talented guy, and the acoustic stuff he has come up for on this album is simply beautiful, and very noteworthy. Most bands, when having an acoustic section, will keep them short - around 4 measures long. Here, they are much more thought out, and much more prominent. You can tell actual work and thought went into these passages, which I can always appreciate. 

The drumming is also just the way it's supposed to be. Bryan never goes overkill, and I'm glad he doesn't, because he plays for the music first and foremost, accenting riffs in the appropriate places and never playing out of place. While some may call that safe, I call it smart. This is not the kind of album to just have blast beats running all the way through it, as it would just ruin the atmosphere.

My only gripe with the album is that the entirety is pretty much the same tempo throughout. I would have liked to hear some blisteringly fast sections, and some doomy, crunching slow sections. I guess they just didn't feel like it or didn't think it was appropriate for what they were trying to achieve.

Overall, a very solid effort. I respect and admire the organic songwriting and production. Acoustic sections are incredible, and both members give a stellar performance throughout the album. Definitely worth investing some time into.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10