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An accidental discovery of mine earlier this year that has frequently made its way into my playlist is the self-titled debut album from Epic Heavy Metal supergroup Sangreal. After only hearing a single song from a random play on Apple Music, it was surprising to find that there is little conversation about this release and band, despite the noticeable talents that combine here for this effort. I am very happy to share my report of the band and their album released back in 2019.

A quote from their "About" section from their Facebook page: "Sangreal is a Sacred Epic Metal Project to connect the epic metal to the sacred of the ancient scriptures, an epic journey between legends and history." If this lyrical theme is a turnoff for you, perhaps this album might not be the right choice for you, but if you are indifferent to lyrical content like I am (unless it is just pathetically written) you will be rewarded with great offerings. Sangreal deliver Epic Heavy Metal that does not rely on extreme song lengths or anything, but rather they fit into the subgenre through theme and stylings. The presentation is very smart, as it carefully centers around one of the largest talents of the band, vocalist Gabriel Grilli, also currently the vocalist of Gothic Stone and formerly the vocalist of the Doomsword debut album, also singing for Battleroar for a few years. His voice was for me the most memorable quality of the album, as his singing is powerful, passionate, and yet graceful. He possesses just enough grit to display power and emotion while still sounding beautiful. The other musicians on the album are all very solid as well, as one would expect from a supergroup, but their involvement seems largely focused on playing to the strength that is Grilli's voice.

It is somewhat hard to pick highlights from this album, as there is neither a significantly outstanding track nor are there any weak tracks. My personal favorites included "Anime Prave," "Martyr," "The Quest of the Holy Grail," and "Arise Today." "Anime Prave" has a dark tone delivered right from the start with a surprising, interjecting melodic element which cleverly connects sections in a fun, rhythmic way and provides a hard-hitting feeling amidst the steady texture. The song ends with a big and powerful guitar solo that will stick with a listener for a while. "Martyr" has a few interesting moments, but most noticeably is the powerful shift of energy present in the chorus sections, making it a real head-turner. "The Quest of the Holy Grail" is one of the faster songs, while still not being very fast. Aside from the welcome change of pace, as much of this album is slower than a mid-pace while not yet extremely doomy, the song has a fun guitar lead moment in the middle that goes into dual harmonies and lifts the song's energy nicely. It would be great to have more moments like this in future work from the band. Closer "Arise Today" is a tranquil finish with an acoustic guitar and Grilli's signature vocal dominating the song. Grilli's voice here makes me want to replay the song over and over, as he delivers his most graceful and yet powerful and emotional vocal tracking here.

While I prefer this kind of music with a larger focus on riffs, the band executed this type of Epic Heavy Metal masterfully. There are no clumsy or dull moments on this record and every moment sounds flawless. More peaks and variation in tempo and writing style would help this become more of a standout, but already it is very strong. Let's hope that Sangreal will jump back into the studio someday soon and grace us with another effort, as this is only the first album from the group.