Archarus - Render Unto Archarus (2015) (Full Album)
First look at the red haired maiden and dragon lurking in the water laden distance for Archarus’ cover and many metal heads would prepare themselves for the second coming of Dio musically. Given that this Indiana quartet’s name relates to a celestial sea dragon, expectations are high that this full-length Render unto Archarus will possess reasonably heavy substance – if not a little fantasy, mystery, or sorcery. Together since 2014, it’s nice to hear a group of musicians in America willing to stick to more conventional style of traditional doom metal devoid of stoner elements that flood the underground marketplace. A love of Black Sabbath is obvious in terms of the main riff hooks and jazz-swing like drum tempos right out of the gate for “Sea Wolf” and “The Last of the Giants”, but guitarists Drew Smith and Matt Hannon also maintain a sharp melodic bite that reaches into Iron Maiden’s early Di’Anno period and Orange Goblin, especially on the relatively up-tempo “Fire Blade”. A l...