2nd April 2025

Review: “Prologue” by Balmora

“There is something for everyone in the new Balmora material but at the end of the day, if you ever wanted to hear what The Black Dahlia Murder sounded like if they had Irate mosh parts, this will be for you.” ~ Balmora

In the fictional language of Dark Elvish in The Elder Scrolls video game series, Balmora means “stonewood” and its from that franchise that the Connecticut five piece take their name. Blurring the lines between Melodic Death Metal and Metalcore, the outfit have been around since 2023, hammering out a pair of splits as well as a debut EP in “With Thorns of Glass and Petals of Grief” as they begin their ascent. Turning the screw, a sophomore EP ahead of a label tour in North America where they will turn stages to sawdust alongsid Torture, Sanction, Final Resting Place and Azshara feels like a tease. Perhaps it is, as it features a track previously released on “One Scene Unity: A Hardcore Compilation, Vol.4 (2024)” from Within Records as well as being labelled as a precursor to a full length debut album set for a grand unveiling later this year…

…not that any of that matters of course because we living in the here and now so a preview of the shape of punk to come from a band with a growing reputation is always welcome. A sample from 2022’s The Northman “Let this misdeed haunt your living nights till a flaming vengeance scourges on your death. Strike. Strike!” sets the tone for raging 2003 era Metalcore nostalgia as “Blighted to Pine” roars from Hells gate with a raw edge. There is more to this than meets the ear however as the band burn their way through the lyric sheet, flipping between those Metalcore sounds and moments of heavy end Beatdown Hardcore accompanied by brutal gutturals from vocalist Chris “Senti” Misenti. What’s interesting is that there is more complexity to the track than the bands previous works while still retaining their earlier sounds, something which on paper at least, shouldn’t be possible. “The Day I Died, I Heard No Singing” feels like an early Bleeding Through demo, such is the quality of musicianship on display, a whirlwind of percussion, rumbling bass and raging guitars with that melancholic tinge underpinning it all. Punishing breakdowns as well as electric leads being the order of the day. A new rendition of “Bloodlord” perhaps signals that it was the tune that started a change in momentum for Balmora. Having some aching clean singing parts contrasted against some bowel clenching guttural lows pushes the bands extremes in both directions, the breakdowns piling up quote dramatically by the bitter end. A false ending before a brutal grand finale is a nice touch, listening to that moment in isolation might even make you think you’ve been zapped into a different band! [7.5/10]

Track Listing