So, I’ve gotta say right off the bat: 2023’s absolutely spoiled us with terrific power metal. I won’t hijack this review by digging into it all — check back next week for that — but, man! We’re almost into freaking December and still getting fun new things from the genre. Case in point: Axenstar, who returns today with the new album, Chapter VIII. It’s not bad!

On their first full-length since pre-pandemic times, the Swedes waste absolutely no time in getting things up to speed. The album’s got, full-stop, one of the best opening 1-2-3 punches you’ll have heard all year. Guitarists Joakim Jonsson and Jens Klovegård fire off nimble, harmonized guitar leads in abundance, as vocalist Magnus Winterwild does his damnedest to answer the question “What would it sound like if Timo Kotipelto never left his chest voice?” (Answer: pretty good!)

Each of these tracks goes for a different vibe, musically, but the band’s more than adept enough to nail them all. On “Heavenly Symphony,” you’ve got a maddeningly fast statement-of-intent, with an almost (but not quite) too cheesy chorus, that… friends, it just soars. “Through the Fire and Brimstone” dials back the tempo in favor of a more deliberate and epic-sounding belter with, again, a terrific refrain. “The Great Deceiver,” though, might be my favorite of the bunch, with a sinister verse that gives way to a busy-but-insanely-catchy gang hook.

In general, though not exclusively, Chapter VIII impresses most when it floors the gas. By simply turning on the jets and letting it rip, the band’s often able to overcome would-be obstacles and keep your interest. On “No Surrender,” Jonsson and Klovegård’s sweep picking guitar extravaganza covers for a relatively middling hook; on “Holy Land,” it’s drummer Pelle Åkerlind’s galloping masterclass and Winterwild’s stellar vocal performance that steal the show. (That being said, speed in and of itself ends up being not quite enough to save closer “Life Eternal,” so every rule has its exceptions.)

Unfortunately, things run out of gas a bit down the stretch on Chapter VIII. None of the album’s last three tracks end up being particularly memorable, which keeps this pretty-decent album from turning into a truly great one. But still, there’s enough here to merit a listen — and maybe in the case of those first three tracks, several re-listens — and this late in the year, that’s nothing to turn your nose at.

Keep it heavy,
—Dan

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Chapter VIII is available now via Inner Wound Recordings. For more information on Axenstar, follow the band on Instagram.