Review by Alex on August 11, 2019.

I'm in awe! What we have here is renaissance traditional heavy metal done dare I say, perfectly. That is not a word I use lightly and even more so, it’s a word I condemn when engaged in describing music; because nothing is as such, however this is damn sure close; what is this éclat upon us? The riffs, the drumming, the vocals; the vocals!; a testament to musical greatness. When I first caught a glimpse of the material that would go on to exceed all my expectations, that being Switzerland’s Megaton Sword’s debut EP, Niralet, I was in no way excited. I mean there are tons of traditional heavy metal bands all claiming to be this and that, and to a marginal degree, several have achieved what they set out to accomplish; but my only thought at the time was, ‘whatever’. That would go on to change vastly and rather quickly after hearing the first track and being absolutely blown the fuck out of my boots by the sheer power and sound of pure passion on all instrumental and vocal fronts. Spellbinding, victorious, glorious, melancholic, mesmerizing and mighty are just some of the words that popped out upon hearing the first track of this masterpiece.  

‘Vulva of the Nightfall’ hits with the dogmatic force of a tyrant army; vocalist Uzzy ‘Unchained’ pours all of his emotions out unto the listener whether representing melancholy or anger, his voice reeks of passion and pulls like a magnet towards the era he is breathing life into. His ability to portray a scene of war, loss, conquest and sacrifice is sensational. He commits his soul to the music to the point that sees Niralet thought being a debuting EP, compete vigorously with some of the best releases within the genre both past and present; one of those and more lately being Eternal Champion’s "The Armour of Ire". Chris ‘The Axe’ and Simon ‘The Sorcerer’ rally carry the banner and give relentless support to Uzzy’s commanding and championed vocals with fiery, maiming riffs and enchanted pulsing bass; a combination of rhythmic rapture, while drummer Dan ‘Thundersteel’ provides the beat to the battle march. Plowing through enemy territory with victorious battle shouts and lament, Megaton Sword provide piercing and heartfelt melodies with tracks in the form of ‘Pristine War’ and ‘Realms to Conquer’ that emanate an incense carrying the whiff of dirge and doom, via soft melodies coated with the crusade of Uzzys vocal expanse.

Niralet is an all-round effort that shares a deep sense of merit and honor; this band is going to explode, hopefully for the better. To deliver such an astounding and seemingly professional performance at such an early stage in their musical journey comes as a massive welcome to the underground scene. Megaton Sword is definitely one of the bands, if not, THE BAND any connoisseur of heavy metal should be paying keen attention to here-on out. Niralet has stormed the fortress of this thing we call metal and has done so with both charm and conquer of ages long gone. 

Rating: 9 out of 10