Review by Greg on March 23, 2026.

After the absolute home run that was Spirit Invictus, Greece's own Triumpher might have already secured their place in the pantheon of modern epic heavy metal. Incredibly enough, exactly three mere years after their debut Storming The Walls hit the shelves, these five ancient warriors are already at their third full-length. Composing such marvellous stuff and doing so while maintaining this level as well definitely needs to be hailed. Naturally, a part of me can't help but fear the day when such a rapid-fire release pace leads to the band churning out half-assed slop. So far, it hasn't happened – quite the opposite. What about this new Piercing The Heart Of The World, then?

After a quick peek at the tracklist, noting that the album runs a good five minutes longer than its predecessor, with the same number of tracks, it would be easy to expect an even partial return to Storming The Walls' modus operandi, which isn't far from the truth. The songs are noticeably more spacious and slow-burning than riff-driven, with symphonics and choirs being used more extensively. Even the vocal hooks aren't as easy to assimilate when compared to its predecessor (or 'The Thunderer', for that matter). It's no wonder that few were the tracks that initially stuck with me: opener and first teaser 'Black Blood', a grandiose, epic midtempo, showcasing Triumpher's more power-influenced side; 'Erinyes', simply for being the closest to a blackened thrash song they've ever composed, obviously filtered through their typical heroic lens; 'Ithaca (Return Of The Eternal King)' as the slower, vocal-centered number, although I wasn't sure whether for good reasons or not.

Oh, and that fierce hoplite with a microphone in hand, otherwise known as the band's vocalist, Mars Triumph, is in top form as always. He's still channelling the fierceness and controlled abandon of prime Eric Adams, and he's one of the absolute best at that in the business. To mention one highlight among many, I can't get enough of how well he bellows that 'Hail! The Wrath Of The Destroyer!' in the eponymous speeder, skyrocketing a rather par-for-the-course refrain to empowering levels. I'll make one small remark and say that the lower register he keeps in the first part of the aforementioned 'Ithaca' isn't as commanding as I'd have hoped from him, but it's a very minor blemish.

Listen after listen, the layers of Piercing The Heart Of The World began to unravel. 'The Mountain Throne' stands as the song that grew on me the most, handled masterfully by Triumph (not that the other songs aren't, mind you), who flexes through the muscular prechorus and the slower refrain, before meeting a brutal acceleration halfway through the song – Triumph once again gloriously reclaiming the spotlight in the incredible ending. Just listen for yourself. Even better, the album doesn't start wandering in its second half, as the debut did at times. There are still some moments where the guys weren't at their most inspired, like the somewhat tedious prechorus of 'The Flaming Sword' or the slightly puzzling calmer interlude 'Vaults Of Immortals', which comes after an already largely balladic episode, not helping the overall momentum. Nevertheless, most of it eventually won me over. A clear example is closer 'Naus Apidalia', their longest song to date: a suite based on Ulysses' mythical journey, adorned by the best lead guitar work I've heard from axemen Marios and Christopher so far, and featuring an emotional ode to Poseidon halfway through, written in ancient Hellenic. I also appreciated them circling back to the chorus at the end, which is something many songs attempting this route usually overlook, for one reason or another.

All in all, Triumpher have delivered a slightly different beast, although at the expense of somewhat discarding what elevated Spirit Invictus as one of my top 2024 albums. Obviously, none of this is meant to imply that Piercing The Heart Of The World is a total dud. Far from it – it will need just a couple more listens, but it sure is rewarding. After all, Triumpher have always guaranteed material of the highest quality so far, and I'm glad to announce their streak is still ongoing. Pick your own favourite, but make sure not to dismiss the others.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Alex on August 14, 2020.

Sometimes in metal, after you've gotten tired of the cookie-monster flooding your ear canals with all sorts of deep guttural growls, you just want to kick back and listen to some instrumental music, in this case, technical death metal. Sometimes doing this gives the listener a different perspective of the music to be heard on any given album within the genre. It allows you to really appreciate what it is the drummer and guitarist do that keep you head-banging. Plus you get a glimpse of just how difficult or tricky some sections are to perform and you're able to pick up on certain things you may have missed when big-mouth over there could not seem to keep it shut for a few seconds.

The instrumental work we get to dissect is coming from a duo under the band name Fermentor. They play technical/progressive death metal (and include some surprises) on their debut album Continuance. Usually I'd pass this up with barely a glance; however, since the black and death metal snarls, growls and shrieks have been a tiring thing as of late, I used this as an opportunity to refresh. I'm quite pleased I did accept this promo because what Fermentor are able to achieve is praise worthy.

You're given ten tracks of technical tranquility on Continuance, with each doing something interesting all the while different. Opening track 'The Stench' is quite a mixed-pot from the get-go; merging black metal, progressive metal and the obvious death metal offences to make a statement early on that your time will be well-spent. There are moments you could predict what comes next along with times in which they completely turn off the lights before flicking the switch back on to introduce us to some proggy eerieness. More surprises await as you veer off into tracks like 'Thunderboss' (that actually sounds thunderous via the meaty blast beats aided by thick riffs) and 'Mechanism'. These tracks are chock full of twists and turns plus they sound the part rather than appearing to be thrown in just for the sake of tech death metal. Melodic instances, spontaneous chugchords and some Swedish death metal tones are added to the technical affair.

I like the fact that the songs don't sound diddly-doodly like many albums within the genre do. I'm talking about releases that use up so much technicality that the actual death metal gets diluted in a frenzy of nerdy fingering. That heavy element is still present and can be found very active on songs such as 'The Decay of Western Society', 'Landbridge' and 'Cotterpin' that is the best track for me due to its seamless incorporation of heavy metal riffing around the 2:20 mark that suddenly shifts into black metal territory.

The sheer stamina of the individuals being Dylan Marks (drums) and Adam Wollach (guitar) is absolutely unbelievable; hence, the pace at which they play seamlessly merged with the complexity of their labyrinth tunes. You never get the feeling they are holding back, as a duo they give you 110% from the first to final track, 'Project Zeus'. You really get the feeling that even after such a lengthy display of instrumental gymnastics there's more left in the tank of Fermentor due to how effortless they make playing songs like 'Mechanism', 'Stage V' and the aforementioned 'Project Zeus'. Yet I can't help but wonder if there will be a follow up to the album, if the unit is even able to outdo what was done on Continuance. Perhaps this is just the beginning and the act is to be continued...

Rating: 8 out of 10