Pointing to the son of the sun god and his joyride unto death as penultimate warning that the hubris of mankind inevitably receives the wrath of the gods London, England-based heavy metal quartet PHAËTHON begin to unroll their thesis on human narratives outside of reality (be it propaganda, folkore or religious mythos) and the fatal impact they may have on the direction humanity takes. The follies of men are translated into the too-human flaws of the gods here on this brilliantly comprised debut full-length album, ‘Wielder of the Steel‘. Over the course of its eight songs their portents of doom stretch beyond Greek tragic plays unto the Kalevala and beyond, conveying sparks of great power wielded by fellowes who bear at least one fatal weakness of character, overconfidence. As these general lyrical themes call to the ear their high standard for the epic heavy metal niche reveals its superior craft, bristling with energy and ear-gripping per eventful speed metal-kissed movements and slow-rousing chorales.

Phaëthon formed circa 2020 lead by vocalist/guitarist S. Vrath, who is best known for his work in Scythian and Craven Idol, who was soon joined by bassist Aees (Dysemblem). Their first EP (‘Sacrifice Doth Call‘, 2021) featured a session drummer and soon after its release they’d included Decado (Fen, Fellwarden) on lead guitars. From that point the drum seat has changed and the style of the band has refined, resembling a mix of classic and nowadays ideations of traditional ‘epic’ heavy metal inspired by Bathory, Satan, Manilla Road among others. On their debut release they’d shown some interest in the doom metal side of things on songs like “To the Gallows” but as they tighten up their general focus and musicianship epic heavy metal is now a most clear directive. With ‘Wielder of the Steel‘ they seem to have everything riled up to a pro standard suitable for their intent, ramping up to kicking speed, leading with more intricately stated guitar work, and now presenting a bigger vocal personae to direct their ship.

Though the songs carry themselves with admirably writ themes and memorable action the main points of induction here, the big reasons for my own hype heading into ‘Wielder of the Steel‘, start with great admiration for the heavy metal centered work found on ‘Forked Tongues‘ from Vrath‘s band Craven Idol and Decado‘s ‘Legend: Forged in Defiance‘ via Fellwarden. Not because they are directly similar but because I believed each were more than capable of pure and strongly resonant heavy metal songcraft set high above-average. In fact this debut from Phaëthon reinforces that observation and surprisingly feels less like a side-project, now bearing a full-souled event for a debut. Otherwise smaller details are nearly as hype inducing, such as the cover art from German artist Stefan Bleyl whose work can be found on one of my favorite heavy metal records of the last decade (‘Into Duat‘ from Magister Templi) which only adds to the overall well-curated manifestation and inspiring effect of this record as it arrives.

With a clank or two at the forge “Eternal Hammerer” rides out quick, applying its pressure fast with a wailing strike of lead guitar, a few Maiden-esque hits and a gallop into the quickened pace of the main verses. Here the main vocal from Vrath is exceptional in its commanding inflection which to me reads as that step between NWOBHM-era tunefulness and the force applied by early speed metal before the performative heavy rock spirit had been siphoned away from the craft, not quite ‘Into Glory Ride‘ kitsch in any sense but able to jam and play with rhythm in the s same way as the guitars build up their runs and bash about. The momentum of said opener feeds us directly into the more gallant stride of “Vanguard of the Emperor” where pinched guitar trills and harmonized chorales achieve a chorus upon in galloping announce before the tumble of the first verse or two claps forth. There is a real chest and a rhythmic thump to this opener which is quite different from anything on their debut EP, even looking beyond the double-kicked punch of those main rhythms the diction of the vocals is menacing, delivered with (again) a commanding presence that was distant and unsure on previous recordings. As if to emphasize just how much they’d grown beyond that point we’ve a spoken narrative that builds in the middle portion of the song, cementing it as an impressive first peak in achieving something palpably ‘epic’ set under the spacious conditions allowed early-to-mid 80’s heavy metal. The opener convinced me of the energy this album was capable of but that second piece sold a higher capability, an assured presence within its stride.

As far as I’ve gathered “For the Greater Good of Evil” was written by Aees, one of the first of a few songs that find the band’s songcraft enhanced by the additional hands elaborating upon their collectively rising capability. This one is quicker, again a bit touched by a shade of early speed metal tonality as it pushes along eventually finding more percussively shot rhythms that don’t fully reach for a Venom-esque wrestle through but do present a darker touch that’ll eventually reprise down the road. Crossing spoken word narration, ‘Too Late to Pray‘-era Tyrant style vocals with a nigh ‘Warning of Danger‘ cadence becomes a nuclear event in mind as “Tolls of Perdition” amps up its verses with a gamut of shrieks and folkish Lizzy-esque guitar runs. The greater potential heard within Phaëthon‘s forge previous now begins to hit a certain threshold for greatness, at least that song’d been the piece to push me over the edge into fandom, inspiring many returns to the impact of the first four songs on this album. Their action was almost too packed into its varietal showing that it’d nearly forget to take a breath along the way, leaving Side A imposing in its quick-moving but highly detailed advance.

Though the drums aren’t necessarily eating full room noise the production here is realistic enough, allowing the rhythm guitar work most of the main stage alongside the vocals to allow room for expression while the rest of the band move from formation to formation in support. We do get some bass guitar runs and flourishes within this greater sensation of a live in studio performance though it is clear they’d like to emphasize the dual guitar attack and the riffs they’ve so carefully authored. The second half of the album particularly emphasizes equal parts heart-racing amp and even more stoically stated moments, first picking up the pace once again on “Blasphemers” for Side B‘s opening shot of energy. I’d particularly enjoyed the lyrics for this portion of the album, unafraid to go a bit darker beyond “For the Greater Good of Evil” but holding the tone of the album together at the same time; On that same tip (to some degree) the slightly more serious tonal shift of “Forgotten Gods“, penned by Decado, has a serious Omen-esque feeling to its sprawl, eventually escalating its leads as the song hits its peak and finishing its thought in line with some of the other arrangements found on the album. I’d been anticipating the album beginning to take on a slight blackened ebb over its course but this is more-or-less quelled by the slightly more relaxed mid-paced gallop which hits deeper into its second half. Sure, some of the riffs in the second half of “Phaëthon Must Fall” kinda go to that darker spectrum of sound but I could easily argue a band like Hallow’s Eve had gone just as heavy by 1986.

As much as I try to avoid commentary on every single piece of any given album ‘Wielder of the Steel‘ is deserving of every detail’s notice, particularly fine work built in a busied yet heavily stylized fashion into a formidable debut. The title track is the proof, the grand finale, a bout of showmanship and that extra bit of passionate delivery I think the album needed to stick in mind. Getting a serious group shout together mid-song has a real power to it, something they’ve used almost too sparingly across the full spin but holy damn does it leave a dent after each listen. I’d already been convinced this was a solid record by the end of the fourth song but I’d become obsessed with the greater shape and statement of it by the time the nearly ~10 minute closer had cinched up. Beyond that point they’ve basically left me no room to complain here with a fully enjoyable ~43 minute duration which carries neither uglier tics, pointless filler, nor glaring points of laxity one’d naturally avoid after extensive listening. — For my own taste Phaëthon‘s album is in the running for the best traditional heavy metal debut of this year and there is no way fans of the real thing will miss the redeeming qualities of this one if it crosses their path. They’re maniacs on this record, delivering excess goods with just one foot out the womb, and their work only kills more with every crossing. A very high recommendation.

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