To find yourself in much of the underground of what metal has to offer is to find yourself under the constant shadow of those legendary names that have come before you. No matter what you do, the overwhelming influence of those world renowned acts is simply something that you cannot escape. Heavy metal, in particular, suffers from such a fate with many feeling as though the future of the genre isn't going to hold up when the massive names eventually throw in the towel. For those of us in the know, however, the genre's future could not be any more secure so long as we keep getting bands like Tyran and delivering fresh works like this.
You can either try to drive a genre forward to new heights or simply give reverence to what has come before by implementing the saying "imitation is the greatest form of flattery". Many choose the latter, but it is an exceedingly slippery slope that can lead a band effortlessly to sounding boring, stale, and downright recycled which is a fate nobody wants to witness. Tyran could have very easily succumbed to just such a fate if they didn't play their cards right, yet it's throughout the entirety of "Tyran's Oath" that we see just how adept at this sound Tyran has become despite this being their debut album. This album is a love letter to all the heavy metal greats that have come before with the themes, galloping rhythms, and intoxicating songwriting all coming into play to make sure that Tyran doesn't just fall flat and end up being a hollow copy of what's come before. Sure, plenty of cues have been taken from those influences, but what they've managed to summon forth is a clearly passionate and deeply reverential admiration for those foundational works that isn't just a cheap copy, but, rather, a demonstration of what it means to deliver heavy metal excellence without compromise. Many fear the future of heavy metal, but Tyran proves there's still so much to be had should we simply allow the scene itself to deliver on that very potential.
Where some could have failed without so much as blinking, Tyran has undoubtedly succeeded in absolute heaps. The foundation that many could need in order to propel themselves far beyond what people would initially expect, "Tyran's Oath" is very much that: a declartion of Tyran itself that it will hold true to the spirit of heavy metal itself. So far, I think it's safe to say they're keeping true to that.
LISTEN to "Tyran's Oath" on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Tyran on Facebook here.
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