Death metal duo FORETOKEN may have their lyrical focus on mythology, but it is their transformation from their debut album to their sophomore which will go down in legend. Debut album Ruin threatened to collapse under the weight of all their ideas, but second album Triumphs is a truly unstoppable force. The duo have teamed up again with Hannes Grossmann (HATE ETERNAL, NECROPHAGIST, TRIPTYKON etc) for drum recording and the organic instrumentation really shines on this album, alongside the orchestration recorded by guitarist Steve Redmond.
Opening track Revenant of Valor perfectly captures the new and improved FORETOKEN, with its epic pacing, rich textures and storming vocals by Dan Cooley. Demon Queller is an early album highlight with its victorious riffs and ethereal orchestration, while The Labors and Serpent King’s Venom feature some genius vocal and guitar hooks.
Devil O’ the Sea provides one of the album’s standout tracks with its huge riffs, polished production and gloriously blackened elements, FORETOKEN certainly pull out all the stops for this one. Penultimate track A Tyrant Rises as Titans Fall could have been a triumphant closer, but FORETOKEN ends Triumphs with their ambitious cover of NAGLFAR’s I Am Vengeance. Top stuff.
Metalmance 