Glyph - "Honor. Power. Glory"
Fuck dragons!
I don’t recall for certain where the recommendation for Glyph came from. What I do know is that I’m always excited to have good Power Metal, and it’s even more exciting to catch a brand new band’s debut LP. But this isn’t just a brand new band — Glyph is, technically, a supergroup, as all of its members (according to AMG) come from other bands: Skelator, Greyhawk, Gatekeeper, and Ravenous. The still-young act has also already toured in support of Alestorm,1 and saying that that’s a big deal is a big understatement.
Glyph is very straightforward Power Metal. If there are any other genric influences, it’s classic Heavy and Thrash. There’s nothing extraordinarily complicated on this album — just really fucking good metal, especially on tracks like “Eldenfire” with its strong melodic chorus.
Glyph is less about dragons than other Power Metal acts — they even have a “Fuck Dragons” shirt in their Bandcamp merch list. Though that could also be “fuck dragons” because they kill them. There is a track called “Sign of the Dragonlord”. Regardless, the band’s schtick is more in the realm of sci-fi; their descriptor on Bandcamp states:
This is not just a heavy metal band, this is a crew of intergalactic mercenaries escaping a dying planet in their spaceship, the VSS Dragonlord. Clearly, Glyph aren’t just writing songs, they’re building worlds.
And drinking them — the album’s final track, “Volarad”, is about travelling amongst the stars in search of a legendary brew.
And it’s fucking epic.
Look, there’s still room for Glyph to improve. Honor. Power. Glory. is a solid debut effort, but it is still just a debut and doesn’t really do anything incredibly novel. With that said, there’s also a shit-ton of competence here.
They’re only going to get better. I’m very excited to follow this group’s career, and I’m very hopeful that they have a long run. That alone should tell you that this album is worth listening to if you like Power Metal. And if you want to get into the genre, this is as good a place as any.
Rating: Green
Full disclosure — I know Alestorm by name only presently. My first experience with them is coming with their 8th LP, due out in 2025.
There are downsides to being grossly eclectic.