Antioch is a heavy metal band from Canada formed in 2013 by brothers Jordan (guitar/bass) and Brendan Rhyno (drums), the band completed by Nicholas Allaire (vocals). To date, Antioch has released two E.P.’s – ‘Antioch’ (2014) and ‘Antioch V’ (2021), and four albums – ‘II: First Stryke’ (2015), ‘III: Wings And Warlocks’ (2017), ‘IV: Land Of No Kings’ (2019), and ‘VI: Molten Rainbow’, emerging in 2023.
Canada’s legendary Anvil has led the country’s traditional heavy metal movement for over forty years, taking onboard a sound from over three and a half thousand miles away in the UK – the iconic NWOBHM. Many bands have followed in Anvil’s footsteps, such as Sword, Odinfist, Skull Fist, Striker, Category VI, Iron Kingdom, and Antioch. All of these bands portray the classic “foot on the monitor” gallop of old-school metal, Antioch delivering their own interpretation of the NWOBHM sound – much heavier yet melodic! And with their latest album ‘VI: Molten Rainbow’, the band are full steam ahead, banging heads with a barrage of infectious heavy metal.
‘VI: Molten Rainbow’ explodes into life with the heavy-hitting ‘Defiler’, crushing skulls and breaking bones with a heaviness beyond heavy! The band are in a feisty mood, blasting a brand of metal that’s both infectious and head bang-able, yet highly melodious at the same time – listeners everywhere, transfixed by ‘Defiler’, eager to hear more. And more doesn’t take long in coming either, Antioch roaring on with the title song ‘Molten Rainbow’, and at a much faster pace, too! Feet are firmly pressing pedals to the metal here, ‘Molten Rainbow’ hurtling along the freeway at a hundred miles an hour, the band taking absolutely no prisoners whatsoever! A blistering opening one-two, soon becomes a one-two-three, with the old-school metaller ‘Dodeskaden’ adopting the classic foot on the monitor pose. ‘Dodeskaden’ is a much more mid-tempo march than either of the two previous songs, banging heads with a slight anthemic aura.
With the sound of the legendary NWOBHM very much alive – even across the Atlantic in Canada, Antioch moves on with the foot stomping hymn-like majesty of ‘Imps In The Coal’ – slowing the tempo again but introducing a mild level of menace! The Canadian three piece are on fire, running all around the heavy metal genre to deliver a varied and very attractive array of songs. And with listeners, fans and followers not given time to breathe, ‘VI: Molten Rainbow’ accelerates to top speed with the blistering ‘Temple Of Black Fire’. The pace is incredible, the energy level rises right off the fucking chart, and the band changes gears, tempo and feel to create a genre-hopping epic! You’ll find snippets of thrash, speed and even black metal woven into ‘Temple Of Black Fire’s framework – stunning stuff from a band not afraid to “mix it up”. And still “mixing it up”, the band are in territory owned by British stalwarts Saxon with regards to ‘Lucifer In Chains’ – a mid-tempo highly anthemic stomp that is just bruising in nature! The heavy-hitting aspect of ‘Lucifer In Chains’ will knock you off your feet, slamming you to the floor with all the brutality and force of a heavyweight boxer landing a knockout punch!
And still roaming the heavy metal genre, Antioch visits the lighter end for ‘The Harvest Tale’, the band perfectly recreating the iconic gallop of eighties metal – when the legendary NWOBHM was invented by the likes of Angel Witch, Iron Maiden, Raven, Saxon and Venom. And then taken on a three and a half thousand mile journey to Canada by Anvil, who set the standard for every Canadian band to follow – with Antioch doing the country proud, raising the bar to new heights at the same time! Returning the slower tempo, and mild menacing feel of earlier, ‘Hold My Heart’ is also a little anthemic, a little doomy, and a fucking sublime foot stomp! ‘VI: Molten Rainbow’ has certainly spanned every style of heavy metal genre, the band visiting every corner, nook and cranny to deliver variation in abundance. And coming round the mountain, ‘Iron And Rust’ hurtles into view at top speed, Antioch upping the ante to deliver a thunderous finale full of headbang ability.
Overall, a gourmet gallop of hard-hitting heavy metal one hundred percent infectious and immensely attractive.
TRACKLIST
Defiler
Molten Rainbow
Dodeskaden
Imps In The Coal
Temple Of Black Fire
Lucifer In Chains
The Harvest Tale
Hold My Heart
Iron And Rust
Antioch: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Iron Shield Records
Category: Album
Country: Canada
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
