Review: “Holding The Flame” by Tomb Of Giants

Arguably there are few challenges greater in Metal than replacing a vocalist, especially after a well received album. After 2023 sophomore album “Legacy of the Sword” helped put German Traditional Heavy Metal act Tomb Of Giants on the map after a decade at the grindstone, the departure of Sergio Cisternino left the band wandering in the wilderness. Having taken the band to new heights however bassist Daniel Melchior (Ultimate War Experience), drummer Mirco Nienhüser and guitarists Oliver Nienhüser and Yannik “Moshi” Moszynski (ex-BloodVale) weren’t about to give up the dream. Instead they took the path less travelled and found Kai “Roarside” Nikolayczyk, a man known for his work in Reptyle, Crimson Glow and Scarecrow 13 to name but a few and a year on we have their debut EP together “Holding The Flame“…

Adorned by artwork from Timon Kokott (Act of Creation, Carnosus, Writhing), there is no doubt that “Holding The Flame” is the dawn of a new era for Tomb Of Giants with the Iron Maiden or Judas Priest inspired riffs of title track “The Flame” lighting the way. As a band they have not burned any bridges to their past but instead built on those foundations of gold and bones with the wonderful expansive instrumental parts and almost endless warm and playful soloing. As a vocalist Nikolayczyk doesn’t break the mould, instead standing shoulder to shoulder with giants as he delivers a sing-a-long chorus with hints of the abilities to produce an unclean vocal if called upon. Classic 80’s low budget horror movie style evil laughter users in the mid tempo “Evilnator” which had a few pre-Thrash elements with gang chants, double kick pedal action and guitar squeals all in the mix. The sinister urge that brings it all together is a nice touch and you can easily picture this one dropping on the soundtrack of a Netflix series with its instant appeal and evil ways. Sliding back towards their Traditional Heavy Metal sound “Midnight Devil” is a something of a nostalgic throwback to the early 1980’s with a funky bass line heavy in the mix. Rich leads elevate the track, as do some tasteful gang chant moments, the quintet once again wearing their influences on their collective sleeves. A polished tune that would have been huge back in the day, it’s refreshing to hear a band do something like this without feeling the need to modernise it or bring in modern production values. Nienhüser saves his finest kit performance for the grand finale that is “When Destiny Calls“, the band no doubt set to use the gang chant of “Destiny!” in working the crowds when they play this live. Another blistering solo is exactly what you’d expect but the band also allow Melchior a moment in the lime light with a heavier bass part in the extended instrumental passage that follows. That’s a touch of class before the final chorus and if you pardon the cliché this record bodes very well indeed for their next album [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. The Flame
2. Evilnator
3. Midnight Devil
4. When Destiny Calls

“Holding The Flame” by Tomb Of Giants is out 25th July 2025 and is available over at bandcamp