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Loyalty Ends Here – Darkest Red (review)

Releasedate: 18-05-2024

Loyalty Ends Here is a name that has been hard to miss in the Dutch metal scene this year. Last year they were the winners of the Wacken Metal Battle with just one track to their name, and since then, they have been all over the place. Gigs, festivals, new music, even a video. These guys have been working hard. The crown to all their hard work is released on the 18th of May with their debut EP ‘Darkest Red’. 

Loyalty Ends Here

Loyalty Ends Here is a 5-headed metalcore band from the Netherlands. They make melodic metalcore from the early years of the genre. Bands like Trivium, As I Lay Dying and Lamb of God have been inspirations for their music, so you know it’s going to be melodic, hard, technical, and loud. Where a lot of other metalcore bands focus on breakdowns, Loyalty Ends Here is more focused on interesting riffs. 

Their band name ‘Loyalty Ends Here’ is reflected in their lyrics as well, with lyrics about loyalty and betrayal. As with most bands, their lyrics are about the complexity of relationships, with Deadweight as a clear example. 

Three new tracks

Darkest Red consists of three brand-new tracks and two previously released singles. The EP opens with a new track, Sea of Harlots. The main riff somehow really reminds me of Trivium’s ‘Watch the World Burn’ and even though Richie’s vocals are completely different to Matt Heafy’s, it’s easy to see where they draw their inspiration from. The track starts with the same fade-in Testament opened with, and a similar mainriff. It also ties in nicely with the other track we’ve heard before, Deadweight. For people that have heard Testament it’s nice to have some recognition, for the new listeners: welcome to Loyalty Ends Here. 

This is a moshpit party track, so the party starts right away with these guys. The quality of the mix is really high, and sounds like these guys definitely should be playing at those bigger festivals. The emotional lyrics that I liked so much in Deadweight come through at the end of the track as well. And while it’s a bit harder to learn the lyrics, I can imagine people screaming the chorus once they know what to shout. 

Deadweight

The EP continues with Deadweight. It was the second track the band released, and it was accompanied by a fan-filled video. A good way to engage your fans at an early stage, and the result was an energetic, inspiring video. Richy has a bit more melodie in his vocals on this track, the track however is less riff-filled than Sea of Harlots. That’s on purpose since the whole track is working towards the great guitar riff in the middle of the track. That build-up is portrayed in the video nicely as well by the way. 

Medicate me for Silence

Medicate Me for Silence is probably the hardest track on the EP, and the only one that doesn’t start with a fade-in. It starts out strong with Richie screaming his lungs out with ‘I’m losing my god-damn fucking mind’.  The moment he shouts ‘hurricane’ is the moment the song really starts. This track is the fastest and the hardest on the EP. The guitar parts on this track are less riff-heavy, and more Lamb as God-style groovy, which is definitely a nice change. In terms of crowd-pleasers, this is probably the wall-of-death track. The chorus still shows similarities with Deadweight and Sea of Harlots, but it’s only vaguely reminiscent. 

Darkest Red

On to the title track Darkest Red. Of course, it starts with another fade-in and another similar riff. Loyalty Ends Here manages to keep things consistent, and they definitely found their own style. It would have been a good track to end the EP with since it feels like a summary of the EP with similar guitar riffs and a similar vibe to the rest of the songs. New in this track the slower break in the middle of the track and the stutter effect over the vocals in that part. With the “Cyanide” part we are bound to have some crowd interaction, and again, the chorus is easy to sing along to.  Music is therapy for a lot of people, and especially metalheads. This whole EP, but mainly this track, will serve that purpose well.

Testament

We first got to know Loyalty Ends Here through their track Testament, so it’s only fitting to end their debut EP with this track. Testament was released before they entered the Metal Battle competition last year and has been a banger from the start. With the recognizable guitar riffs and the strong vocals (“This is my Tes…. Ta….Ment’) it’s easy to listen to and shout along. The fade-in at the start feels a bit redundant at this point, however. The band has cleary evolved since releasing this track; the newer tracks feel a lot faster and heavier than Testament. However, Menno deserves a shout-out for the heavy drum parts in this track.  After the break at the end, the “like roses’ is again a nice crowd-interaction moment. And of course, the final line ‘I’ve think I’ve had enough’ is a great ending to The Darkest Red.

Final Thoughts

Darkest Red is exactly what we would expect from Loyalty Ends Here. They’ve continued to evolve since Testament and their newest tracks are complex but very commercial. I mean that in a good way; this entire EP is filled with bangers, and Loyalty Ends Here proves that they are ready for the bigger stages with both the quality of the tracks and the production. That makes it hard for me to choose a favorite track on this EP. Deadweight is still a favorite because of the epic riff, however, the new tracks Sea of Harlots and Medicate Me for Silence are good contenders as well. With just a little of 20 minutes in total, there is no need to pick favorites though, you can just listen to the whole thing in your lunch break.

Tracklist:

Sea of Harlots
Deadweight
Medicate me for Silence
Darkest Red
Testament

You can find Loyalty Ends Here on their website and in our database.

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News Photo Reviews

Plaguefest Volume 2

After the first edition of Plaguefest in Manifesto Hoorn, in honor of the Man As Plague album release last year, it was time for a second one. On friday the 10th of May, Loyalty Ends Here, Dauthuz, Man As Plague and the Belgian metalheads from Temptations for the Weak partied with the crowd in Manifesto, Hoorn. We were there to take some pictures and give these bands a listen. 

Loyalty Ends Here

Find all pictures here

The guys from Loyalty Ends Here have  been working hard since they won the Wacken Metal Battle last year. They didn’t get to play Wacken, but they played a whole bunch of cool festivals in the Netherlands. And they’ve been working on an EP, which will be released on May 18th during a party in P3, Purmerend.

They were opening the night, which was a bit difficult because it wasn’t as crowded yet and people needed some alcohol to get in the mood. Loyalty still gave them a good show though, with plenty of headbanging and interacting with the crowd. 

Tonight the guys played a few of their new tracks as well, to get us in the mood for their EP release show. Let me tell you, the new tracks are even louder than before. Having heard some of the teasers of the upcoming EP, I know the quality of these tracks will be top-notch as well. Judging from these pictures, these guys are more than ready for the big stages. 

Dauthuz

Find all pictures here.

Another band that has been around a while, even though they haven’t really played much in recent months. They themselves said they were getting ‘back from the dead’ with this performance. Dauthuz is nasty – nasty riffs, nasty growls, all round death metal goodness. I hadn’t heard of these guys before, but I will definitely be looking out for a new release later this year. 

Man As Plague

Find all pictures here.

It’s always fun to see these guys live, ‘cause you know it will be a party. The crowd wasn’t really in the mood for one though. Even though the band really tried to get them moving, only a few of them did. That didn’t matter to Man As Plague – they still gave it everything they got, with headbanging, kicks, and a circle pit around the soundtable, led by vocalist Tim. The crowd did enjoy them, as we could hear during the ‘No Rest, No Sleep’ sing-along-song. 

Temptations for the weak

Final band for the evening were the Belgian guys from Temptation for the Weak. Since I had to leave to get home on time, I didn’t get to see these guys. You can check them out on Spotify though! 

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News Reviews

Deeproot – Deeproot

DEEPROOT  came out of nowhere. They released their first single at the beginning of 2024 and dropped a 15-minute EP filled with samples and electronic-influenced deathcore. DEEPROOT came to slay. After hearing MIMIC, we were excited to listen to the full EP, so strap in for our full review.

Deeproot

DEEPROOT is a relatively new deathcore band from the Netherlands. Besides vocalist Sten, who is also known for his work with Ecocide, the other names didn’t really ring a bell for me. Which is strange, hearing the quality of music. Especially the production of the EP has a very high standard, which is, according to Instagram, Morgan and Denny’s doing. 

Tight, clean and massive are keywords that describe DEEPROOT’s music well. The entire EP spans just over 15 minutes. It’s very coherent, so it might as well have been one, continuous track. The EP starts with a sample in Inception. The sample sets the tone for the theme of the EP, and immediately brings out the aggression. The crunchy sound of the guitars has us wanting more right away. And I imagine fans of Lorna Shore, Shadow of Intent and Suicide Silence will like this EP as well. 

About the EP

The first track we heard from this band is MIMIC, and we were heavily impressed by the quality when it released. The use of samples adds to the heavy riffs and grunts, and there are plenty of technical guitar parts to enjoy as well. 

Shadow Work and The Blade Itself were new tracks on this EP in addition to the intro track. Shadow Work is by far my favorite track on this EP, probably because of the orchestrations and the nice balance between melodies and heaviness. It’s a groovy track, and I didn’t know Sten’s grunts could pack such a punch. The Blade Itself is a dirty, angry, dissonant track. The guitars are so nasty they sometimes remind me of a screaming cat (might even be a cat, and not a guitar, if you listen closely). Still very groovy, still samples and orchestrations, but overall just a nasty (in a good way) track. Especially the chorus riff. 

Frenzied is the odd-one out, in a way, with a bit more melody in the guitar riffs. I love those riffs, it reminded me of Shadow of Intent,  but I really dislike the abrupt cutoffs where it’s just completely silent. It’s a style choice, I respect that, but I personally wouldn’t have made that decision. 

Final Thoughts

My only dislike with this EP is that it’s too short. We want more from this band. Well, ok, not my only dislike. They should have fixed the cutoffs in Frenzied, because without those that would probably be a banger of a track as well. My favorite as it stands, however, is Shadow Work. If you’re just going to listen to one track, listen tot that one. 

Tracklist

  1. Inception
  2. Shadow Work
  3. The Blade Itself
  4. MIMIC
  5. Frenzied

You can find DEEPROOT on Facebook.

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News Reviews

Zieldoder & Magistraal split EP : Be Silent Like the Night / Fantoom of the Beemserburcht (review)

Close all the curtains and light up a bunch of candles because this is a dark one...

I’m talking about the Zieldoder & Magistraal black metal split EP: Be Silent Like The Night/Fantoom of the Beemsterburcht from Dutch soil of course.

This week’s review is the Zieldoder & Magistraal split EP. Magistraal, a duo with nothing to less information to find about them. I quote from their bio on Spotify: ‘In reality, the duo (originating from the Netherlands) does not want to reveal much about themselves.’ The duo started in the 90’s but ‘reawakened’ themselves in 2023. Zieldoder is as mysterious as their split EP companion. Hiding behind masks, we don’t really know who they are or where they come from besides the Netherlands.

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NH Metalfest IV

On April 19th, the 5th edition of NH Metalfest took place at De Flux in Zaandam. MetalFromNL was there to take some pictures and write a review of the evening. An interesting night it was! Stay tuned for more pictures of the bands later.

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Hesken – Architect of Chaos (review)

Sometimes you have an album where you just have to drop everything and sit down to listen. Architect of Chaos is one of those records. I often listen to an album several times before starting the review, and especially the first few times I heard this record, I really took the time to sit down and listen. There are so many layers and interesting riffs in it that to get everything out of it, you really have to listen carefully. It’s also very nice when an album grabs you so much that you put everything aside just to listen to music. That actually says enough about the quality of the band. Let’s dive into Architect of Chaos together.

HESKEN

HESKEN draws inspiration from various bands, and that inspiration is definitely audible in Architects of Chaos. Dream Theater is clearly present, but Tool, Gojira, and even Thy Art is Murder make appearances at times. The sound is grungy, crunchy, and fortunately NOT as polished as it sometimes sounds in some other productions. However, that doesn’t say anything about the level of instrumental mastery of the band, which is truly on another level and surpasses many bands. 

HESKEN manages to blend their progressive influences well with (old school) death metal and other genres, producing a very unique sound. Meticulously crafted and polished, because it sounds like every note on this album has been carefully placed.As befits prog, there are only six tracks on this album, with Dawn of the New Age being the shortest track at just under 5 minutes. In total, the album lasts over 45 minutes.

Architect of Chaos

The album starts calmly with the intro track of The Seeker. After about a minute, the track really begins, with the crunchy guitars of the main riff. However, this track remains mainly groovy, a bit on the slower side, and may even be considered a power ballad. With this track, HESKEN immediately sets the tone by adding some strange progressive breaks halfway through.

With Fearful Leaders, the album really kicks off. The tempo suddenly becomes much higher. The guitar gallops and tight double bass, the clean, strange time signatures lean towards the modern-metal corner. There are even some actual BLEGHS in there. However, with the gritty vocals and guitar melody in the chorus, HESKEN gives it a completely unique twist. It’s quite impressive to completely stop halfway through the track and add an instrumental break. The build-up to the end chorus creates an emotional rollercoaster, making this track one of my favorites right away.

Conspiracy

With Conspiracy, HESKEN shows that Gojira and Tool have certainly influenced this album. However, we also clearly hear the Dream Theater influence in the pre-chorus. As for the progression of the album, Conspiracy leans more towards the groove and mid-tempo. However, this is still a heavy track, especially the pre-chorus. My favorite part of this track is the As Above – In between – So Below section halfway through. Harmen also demonstrates his ability to grunt deeply on this track. During the break, we’re treated to a display of instrumental skills from both the guitarists and the bassist. Even vocal harmonies are included, so not only Harmen but also bassist Marijn shows how versatile they are.

Dawn of the New Age is the first track heard from this band, as it was released online as a YouTube clip last year. This first introduction to HESKEN immediately made me curious, especially because it’s clear from the first notes that we’re dealing with a prog band with unusual time signatures. The Dream Theater influence is strong, but it’s well-inspired and clearly not a copy.

Desolation

Desolation is the longest track on this album at 9.24 minutes. This is again a diverse but above all heavy track. At times, Harmen’s gritty vocals remind us of Chester Bennington. The rhythm for the pre-chorus again reminds us a bit of Conspiracy. However, then follows the most iconic guitar riff of the album, which they then play an octave higher, making it even cooler (kudos to Sven). There’s plenty of room for each instrument to shine on this track. My only feedback for this track would be that there might be a bit too much repetition in the first half of the track, and without that, the track could have been a minute or a minute and a half shorter.

Architects of Chaos ends with Curtain Call, probably the heaviest track on the album. This is definitely the track where the audience goes wild during a live performance. It’s still progressive, but in such a way that it really hits hard. This is probably also the most death-metal track on the album. I’m especially glad that HESKEN kept Architects varied because although this is very cool, I wouldn’t want to miss a track like Conspiracy.”

Final Thoughts

Architect of Chaos is a great debut album from HESKEN. Progressive metal is a hard enough genre as it is, but to display this level of skill in both songwriting and instruments is seriously impressive. HESKEN brings progressive (death?) metal in a way that’s easy to get into for people who aren’t into progressive metal.  My favorite track of the album is probably Desolation, although Fearful Leaders and Conspiracy are pretty high on the list as well. But Desolation captures everything HESKEN stands for, so if you’re only going to listen to one track, maybe it should be this one. 

You can find HESKEN on their website, on Facebook, or in our database.

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Dance With Dragons – Escape Into Darkness (review)

The Netherlands has been known internationally for producing great Symphonic Metalbands. We’ve had names such as Within Temptation, Epica and Delain as export products. Dance with Dragons finally released their debut EP, so maybe in a few years they can be added to that list as well. Escape From Darkness has been in the works for quiet some time. While these tracks have been performed on various stages in the Netherlands so far, now it’s time to share those tracks with the world.

Dance With Dragons

Dance with Dragons tries very hard to be able to perform the songs they write without a backing track. They have four(!) vocalists and a keyboard player to bring the synths and orchestrations to the stage. And there’s more: all of the band members bring the energy! If you’ve ever been to a gig, or seen the videos on YouTube, you know they all bring it to the stage. 

Escape Into Darkness

Escape into Darkness was planned to be released in 2021. Dance With Dragons started recording and finalizing the album in their personal studio. However, they realized the final product could be a lot better if they got some help producing it. I’m glad the band did that. The final product now is consistently high quality, and the mixing and mastering are done nicely. Which is hard with so many different layers of instruments and vocals. It’s all nicely balanced, giving room for the deep dark grunts, chugging guitars, and dreamy keys, with the talented vocals of Sanne at the forefront. 

Judgement Day

The EP starts with Judgement Day, a track that instantly reminds us of Nightwish with the melody in both vocals and keys. The whole track is a nice balancing act of melodies in guitars, keys, and vocals. The song doesn’t necessarily follow the standard song structure. That actually helps the tracks not be too predictable, while still having a nice recognizable chorus part. A catchy sing-along track, which definitely fits the genre. The hook for the track is in the guitar, which definitely shines early on the EP. 

After Dark is, well, it’s in the name, a darker track than what we started out with. The track is a little more guitar-heavy, with the synths and guitars forming one heavy front. The main vocals still follow on the same note, however, the scream in the pre-chorus shows us Sanne can add a little grit to her voice as well. I would probably have preferred more of that: just a little more variety in the vocals to make that more interesting as well. The bridge in this track takes this one to fast-riff party land, and you can feel the energy the band has on stage pouring out of your speakers on that part.  

The Key

Onto probably the best track of the album, The Key. Hearing the first few notes you know this will be a crowd-pleaser. Sanne again shows her versatility on this track, and the variety of more mid-range and soprano vocals work well. I have to applaud the keyboard player on the riff in the middle of the track, for not going in the direction everyone would expect with that riff. I’m not sure I like it, but I’m glad they tried something different. The heavy part that follows works well to get our heads banging, however, the best part of the track is for sure the ending part, with the ‘I am the key’ vocals ringing in our ears long after the song has ended. 

The EP ends with Mortality, probably the hardest track on Escape into Darkness. It’s another guitar-focused track, with more of those deep grunts, that instantly give the whole track more ‘oomph’. The soprano vocals, layered on top of the guitars and grunts in the pre-chorus make for a nice wall of sound. The instrumental break in the middle gives us some breathing room and makes the lyrics about mortality stand out even more. We do however return to the heavy intro part once more, before the EP ends with more headbanging. 

Final Thoughts

Dance With Dragons managed to put out a versatile EP, that shows the bands’ skills in all capacities. From the dreamy melodies to heavy headbang riffs, deep grunts, and haunting opera vocals, Dance With Dragons has it all. The are some hints of more progressive bands in there if you listen closely, but the main focus is of course the symphonic metal and to me, Nightwish. If I have to give one point of criticism, I would however like to see the band improve on their lyrics since they feel a little too direct to me.

However, I’ve said it before in other reviews: bands like this rise or fall based on their vocalist. And Dance With Dragons definitely passed that test for me. The whole thing is just well-written (apart from maybe the one debatable riff in The Key) and well-produced. My favorite track would probably be The Key, but with a 4-track EP, you can easily listen to the whole thing in one go. 

You can find Dance With Dragons on their own website, Facebook, and of course in our database.

Check out the interview here

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News Reviews

BRACES – Ugly World (review)

BRACES - Ugly World EP

Do you like a good dosis of ‘BLEGH’, tea-whistles and low gutturals? BRACES got you covered! Their debut album ‘Ugly World’ immediately gave me a huge stankface within the first 30 seconds.

It really surprises me how high the bar is set within the Dutch metal scene. The production quality of albums coming out the last couple of years, just shows we got A LOT of talented musicians in this tiny country! BRACES from Tilburg is definitely one of them. You want Deathcore, you will GET Deathcore.

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Dead Head – Shadow Soul (review)

Founded in March 1989, Dead Head is a 4 piece band originally from Kampen, Zwolle (NL). They still write their music in Kampen but as quoted from their website: ‘No band member has actually lived there for 20 years’.

With over 7 albums on their name, Dead Head is a staple within the Dutch Thrash metal scene and just released their 8th studio album called ‘Shadow of Soul’.

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No Kings Allowed – Dethroned

Slipknot plays with masks. Batushka tries to remain anonymous. And of course Sleep Token is the most recent band that tries to remain mysterious and anonymous while playing with masks. When No Kings Allowed contacted me to let me know that they are at least part Dutch, I kinda wondered why they let me know if they insist on staying anonymous. But to this day I at least have no clue about where these guys are from or who they are. Other than that they are, partly at least, from the Netherlands. Let’s dive into their album and at least figure out if we actually like this band enough to proudly claim them as a Dutch Metalband on MetalFromNL. 

No Kings Allowed

Being an anonymous band not much is known about No Kings Allowed. They first showed up in November 2023 with their single The Will Of My God, which is still a favorite of this album for me. Shortly after, in December, they released Getting Along, with a pop-art cover art that reminded me of Marvel comics. Superheroes after all? This single didn’t make it onto the album, however. 

Dethroned was released in the beginning of this month on the 8th of March. And I really have to say, I’m blown away by this debut album. The overall quality is really high. As is the quality of this band’s media presence. If you for instance check out their Instagram, it’s a well thought-out image. All the photos and videos have a similar style, gritty, bold, and portraying a raw energy that we would love to see on stage. That’s the same energy that’s heard on the album as well. In an age where media presence is everything, these guys understood the brief well.  

Then again, as I said, not much is known. There isn’t a bio, there is no explanation for the album, no lyrics, no origin story. No Kings Allowed just ‘is’. And that is intriguing. So let’s just discuss the music. 

About the album

Dethroned consists of no less than 13 tracks, all of which are actual tracks, so no fillers in the 54 minutes of destruction No Kings Allowed brings us. With 13 tracks, I’m not going to discuss them all, so I’ll just discuss some highlights. The opening track No Kings Allowed has an opening sequence, however, so the song doesn’t really start till about 2 minutes in. The guitars are crisp and tight, and the production of the album is on point. The whole album is filled with catchy riffs, aggressive vocals and enough breakdowns and solos to keep it interesting. With various layers of guitars, drums, and the necessary samples, the tracks are well-balanced and performed without flaws. Judging from their video and overall style, No Kings Allowed really does deliver the full package; these guys (or girls?) are more than ready to climb the stage. 

The Will Of My God

As I said in the beginning, The Will of My God is still my favorite track of the album. It feels like a party track with the fast riffs and the catchy chorus. We get a glimpse of the electronic influences during the break as well, as well as some nice chuggah chuggah breaks. The break and the part right after are my favorite parts of the track, aside from the chorus. It was smart of No Kings Allowed to release this track first, it’s a great hit to start your musical career with. 

Judas Kiss is another one of my favorites. It has a different vibe, since it starts a whole lot slower. It starts off as somewhat of a power ballad, but it’s not long before we head back into up-tempo riffs again. Again, a track layered with catchy riffs and a good balance between moshpit riffs and a slower, more emotive chorus. 

Dethroned

Dethroned, which the band released a video for as well, has a bit of the same energy as The Will of My God. Again a memorable riff that will stick to your brain like a fly to honey. It’s something No Kings Allowed does well; interesting, recognizable riffs. It’s hard to write good hooks, and No Kings Allowed has plenty. We get treated with a guitar solo on this track as well. The sweeping start is nice, but it feels like there could have been a little more work put into the solo. We don’t mind though, it’s just a small nit-picky thing to say about an overall great track. 

We March starts off with some samples, and features some female vocals on the track as well. It has an epic vibe, and could have been the soundtrack to a movie or game. It shows us another aspect of this band, without losing the aggression and tightness we’ve come to enjoy so far on the album.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes you come across an album that you keep on playing. Dethroned is like that. I’ve played this album at least 20 times before starting this review, and I’m still not tired of hearing it. Two tracks made it to my personal favorites playlist, and that’s certainly not the case with everything I review. Of course, there are some tracks that are ‘just nice’ and not necessarily the best of the album, but overall, this album is of such high quality that I can’t help but wonder who is behind these masks. We will hopefully never find out. I hope the band remains a mystery but will be getting to the stages near us pretty soon! 

You can find No Kings Allowed on Facebook.