With a martial intro this output is introduced – apparently a battle scene, swords clashing, men crying frantically, and then, an organ presents the motif of the first actual song adequately entitled ‘Chapter II’. The song starts in a typical triple time and alters with common time, which guarantees some tension. The guitars seem to be influenced by grand bands such as At the Gates, The Haunted, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames… thus, the strokes are quite Thrash-dedicated, and this of course brings forth loads of energy. The vocals that are employed here remind me a bit of Leif Jensen – vocalist of the formidable Dew-Scented – i.e. a bit hoarse, aggressive, yelled ecstatically. The production – well, I think it’s awesome and well-done, no real objections here, either. The drums sound natural to me, the bass-drums offer loads of energy in the rather mid-paced compositions, the cymbals are clearly distinguishable, the snare sounds like it has been slightly compressed to bash even more vigorously into the listeners’ faces, the toms lack a bit naturalness tough. Guitars and bass sound ok to me – except some harmonies that are woven into the composition and seem a bit odd. Well, all this sounds like a pretty solid and recommendable record, doesn’t it? I think the guys behind BATTLESWORD are dedicated musicians who don’t have to push their limits in order to show off or something. The proper result proves this observation. Furthermore, I reckon it’s quite likely that BATTLESWORD will face a prosperous future regarding further label offers and publicity ’cause their music is easily digestible and doesn’t challenge the listener too much. So this means that listening to “Failing In Triumph” (what a cute little antithesis…) is a comfortable business. But – frankly – I have the admittedly subjective impression that the Metal scene is saturated by releases like this one here. For me, it’s tedious to listen to such material because of the simple fact that I assess it as being uninspired, shallow and calculated. This kind of music just strives to sound like all the big role models… I can imagine an audience bouncing and hopping around like mad when BATTLESWORD perform live on the world’s big stages – but this doesn’t stand for inspiration yet! BATTLESWORD’s approach towards Metal seems to be constructed in every respect. Sorry, I can’t help it, guys… but that’s my sincere impression. This band is solid, as mentioned above… but still I do not appreciate this easy-listening approach to Metal. There’s too much of this motivated stuff going on anyway. But consider my aforementioned statement – this is my subjective impression, of course. BATTLESWORD label – Neon Knights – can be contacted via: neonknights_2002@yahoo.de