EP of the Year

In contrast to the Album of the Year category, I'm limiting myself to the winner of EPs. In 2024, this honour undoubtedly goes to Writhen Hilt. With Ancient Sword Cult, the Germans, who played classic heavy metal as Booze Control from 2009 to 2019, present an epic metal jewel that should send every genre fan into ecstasy.

Countless giants such as Warlord or Atlantean Kodex can be cited as references. However, such name-dropping often distracts from the crucial point: Writhen Hilt possess the all-important talent in epic metal: emotion. This starts with the vocals of David Kuri, who is also active in the wonderful Flame, Dear Flame - his voice is recognisable and he goes about his work with a lot of passion.

This also applies to the entire instrumental faction: the guitar duo, consisting of David and Jendrik Seller, have definitely understood how epic metal works. To draw a comparison: While the last Manowar shredders, to my ears, almost raped the band's anthems live through a lack of feeling, the riffs and leads on Ancient Sword Cult hit you right in the heart. And that's why a reference to the aforementioned Warlord and Atlantean Kodex is absolutely appropriate. (Early) Lunar Shadow and Legendry also come to mind, who also cast a spell over me time and again with their guitar melodies.

The sound is absolutely fitting for an underground release. If epic metal sounds too clinical, it loses all charm. Ancient Sword Cult also has soul on this level - and I hope that they won't change anything in this respect on their full-length debut, which will hopefully be released soon.

In short: Writhen Hilt catapult themselves into the front row of epic metal newcomers with their debut and, together with Savage Oath's Divine Battle, provide the two major highlights of 2024 in this genre.