REVIEW: DREADNOUGHT – WARS OF SPIRIT // WARDS OF LIGHT
A prog metal epic that shoots for the stars
The cover for Dreadnought’s Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light is a bold statement. Comic book artist Christian Ward’s saturated colors and dramatic framing look like a space opera serial. It takes you to a different world without divulging a retro aesthetic. It’s one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen all year. The art is paired with fresh lettering to announce a new chapter for the Denver quartet.
This new chapter is signified by the absence of vocalist/keyboardist Emily Shreve, who replaced Lauren Vieira on the band’s last album, The Endless. This leaves founding guitarist/vocalist Kelly Schilling handling most of the vocals, all keyboard duties and playing flute (albeit to a lesser extent than on previous albums). Guitarist Ryan Sims also adds his vocals for the first time, contributing baritone cleans and pummeling growls.
They interpreted these changes as an opportunity to make daring developments in their music. For a band who built a consistent discography on 17-minute epics, the true challenge was for them to condense. This downsizing process began on The Endless, which elicited shorter, atmospheric tracks highlighting the band’s musical idiosyncrasies. As great as that album was, Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light is stronger. It feels like the full crystallization of where they started to venture in 2022; the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son to their Somewhere in Time.
That comparison doesn’t account for the whole picture. In Iron Maiden’s case, the futuristic storytelling and guitar synth drenching their 1986 classic sound gravelly compared to the opus that followed. Here however, many of those same characteristics enhance Dreadnought’s refined worldbuilding and musical ambition. With Schilling on keys, she makes far greater use of synthesizers. Though there is still the band’s signature piano and string voicings, the synths have an incredible diversity of sounds. Pitch shifting is used to great effect on track two “The Archive” and track 5 “Aeonwar.” The warbly tone of the instrument does wonders in creating the atmosphere of an epic sci-fi crossover comic.
The guitars and drums also cover new terrain. They are much heavier than on any of Dreadnought’s earlier work. On masterpieces like Bridging Realms, sludgy riffs and black metal bursts were used as accents to sprawling, jazzy art rock. On this album, they’re the norm instead of the exception. References to doom and black metal are more present than ever, but the band still find ways to push themselves with heaviness. “The Archive” is based around a really cool Meshuggah riff that will give you immediate stankface. Hopefully, this album will rectify the sin of Dreadnought’s omission from the Metal Archives (and Wikipedia too, for that matter). If you’ve struggled to get into the band because they weren’t metal enough, I feel horrible for you, but also think you should give Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light a try.
The instruments are synchronous with the production. This is the most produced a Dreadnought album has sounded. It helps create their lofty, ethereal scope. Heightened use of reverb and slapback effects work well. Panning on the synths and guitars create some really cool moments of trippy psychedelia, comparable to their fellow Denverites in Blood Incantation. Gated dance beats, glitchy melodies and Schilling’s skypiercing vocals recall the avant-garde spirit of Björk. These electronic elements on “Serpents of the Moon” and “Aeonwar” are new territory for the band. They’re conceived exceptionally well and fit the tone of the album perfectly. It’s almost impossible to name everything that’s contributing to the sound. This is an album with Mastodon – Crack the Skye levels of eargasmic prog bliss.
My only real criticism is in the vocals. Kelly’s airy highs and Ryan’s booming lows complement each other well, but the band’s overall sound is lacking the warmth that came from Lauren and Emily’s midrange. It’s especially noticeable considering the vocals are foregrounded on this release. Harmonies add a lot of body when they’re implemented, like in the final track “The Twilight Protectorate.” They sound heavenly over the song’s space-rock landscape. Isolated however, Kelly’s vocals would sound perfect on a Kate Bush or Tori Amos album, but sometimes don’t translate to heavy metal. Considering there’s nothing that could have been done about the lineup changes, the band did an admirable job of having more lead vocal parts on these 6 tracks. A midrange is the only thing missing from the Dreadnought’s colorful palette of sound, but the strength of the material more than makes up for it.
The promo materials don’t cite Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light as a concept album, but it does tell a cohesive narrative across its span. The lyrics recount the narrator’s mental possession by demonic entities, cosmic battles to ward them off, reclamation of fortitude and establishment of “The Twilight Protectorate” to “give you power, grant you strength.” The themes of mental resilience and finding spiritual light resonate with impactful emotion. Triumph is felt by the listener because it’s what the band exhibit musically. There’s a confidence underwriting the fulfillment of their vision. One cannot help but be moved by its conviction and grandeur.
In their first year of operation, Vesperian have created a home for innovative music of the highest caliber. Dreadnought’s Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light is a spectacular highlight. 6 albums into their career, the band appeal to a wider audience without losing any of their artistic integrity. Having made some of the most original music of the past 15 years, Dreadnought redefine what progressive metal is capable of. The album’s comic book mythology is impressively highbrow and emotionally powerful. It’s simultaneously the most direct and fully realized record in the band’s dense discography.
4.5/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light is out now via Vesperian.
