A couple of mates mentioned a while back that this band had signed to Century Media. It was kind of a big deal for the band I gathered, but I was unaware of their profile beforehand, so it was hard to judge. I guess maybe a lack of wider profile was an element of why it was deemed a big deal. Who knows. Well, as it turns out, and not for the first time, Century Media knows. Because this looks rather like a savvy signing.

That being said, Upon Stone are not by any means breaking new ground sonically. Nor are they even vaguely radio-baiting. What they very much are, however, is a band capable of creating a sound that many metal fans are still in love with. We’re going to Gothenburg, folks. This is 00’s melodeath. And it’s a very good version of it. Weirdly, it wasn’t far from this time last year that we had the debut from Majesties, via 20 Buck Spin. That was massively well-received and indeed, there were a number of other releases in the last 12-18 months that scratched a similar itch, albeit in slightly different ways. And if you look at some of the most exciting contemporary names in extreme metal (Tomb Mold, Cattle Decapitation, Undeath, Moonlight Sorcery, Hellripper) then you’ll note that more and more room is being made for melody, and beyond that, for unashamed, (I’m going to say it) triumphant lead guitar work. That style of guitar being in favour tends to be cyclical. I’m not claiming that as my theory, it just is. But I’m glad it’s with us at the moment.

This record landed last month and though I didn’t receive it as a promo, nor was I anticipating its release, I’ve had such a gratifying relationship with it in the last few weeks, that I felt compelled to write it up. And although I’ve made it sound almost one-dimensional in its very clear influences, in reality the record has a far greater degree of dynamism to it. In style as well as sonically. It employs aspects of heavy metal, folk metal, death metal and even NWOBHM but somehow manages to make all of them sound both authentic and, crucially, full of rabid, malevolent fury. But somehow it retains a complete an utter sense of fun. Look at the album artwork. It’s basically a perfect evocation of what this record sounds and feels like.

It’s a record borne of influences from 20 years ago, that makes you feel like you’re in the Medieval, but paradoxically could scarcely feel more fresh if it had been sliced directly off of an enemy and slung in a pan over a campfire. The acoustic passages are utterly gorgeous and incredibly well integrated (shout to Taylor Young’s production while we’re at it) and the songwriting is both memorable and focused more on brevity than ponderous elongation of songs. In fact, if you discount the “Dig Up Her Bones” cover (a bonus track), then you’re looking at 8 songs over less than half an hour. It’s brilliant from start to finish. Including the Misfits cover, and I would rarely recommend a band tries to do one of those, much less put it on their debut album.

Not everyone likes In Flames. Or even At The Gates. But if we forget about them for a minute and just take in the quality of this record on its own merits? If you like metal, then I find it hard to see how you wouldn’t really like this. Superb stuff, and my first welcome surprise of 2024.