HIGH COUNCIL – Cruel and Unusual (2025) *HQ*

Hailing from Southern New Jersey comes HIGH COUNCIL, a metal force with one foot in Hell and the other crushing the throat of mediocrity. For years, High Council has been bludgeoning its loyal fans with ferocious epics of riff-fueled melodic metal delivering five studio EPs and a full length album. As well as that they have worked hard impressing audiences at venues all around the greater northeastern United States, consolidating their power.
Now, with the release of new full album ”Cruel and Unusual”, High Council seeks to spread their madness to the rest of the world. Not a band to reside in a specific genre, High Council are labelled as being for fans of bands as differing as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Tool, Blind Guardian, Dark Forest – dabbling in genres like Heavy Metal, Traditional Metal, NWOTHM, Hard Rock, and more. All connected by the one most important hing – solid heavy riffs and a true heavy metal heart.
”Cruel and Unusual” represents the culmination of the years the band has spent honing their performance and songwriting skills. The band are also keen to ensure listeners understand that: ”This album contains 100% Human Generated artwork and music. Support Human Artists”.

Kicking things off with the title track, Cruel and Unusual, it doesn’t take long to feel comfortable and bedded in with High Council’s sound. Being the first time we have listened to these guys, we don’t know what to expect but the traditional sounding guitars, solid riffing and drums feels relatable. Vocals are strong, bringing a hard rock vibe to their delivery with elements of that traditional sound. Solid harmonising adds depth to the strong, singalong chorus and we have some really infectious guitar melody.

It’s a strong start that gets stronger with the elaborated ”Routed in the Wood (By Eldlings and Brackenguard)” which really shows how multi genre High Council are. The solid heavy metal start of the opener is left behind in a song that begins with a gorgeously sung folk intro. The metal drops and we have a combination of power metal and epic in a powerful number that hits hard with big riffs in it’s slower tempo. Keyboards take over for a piece adding a disconcerting layer of melody that creates a touch of atmosphere and a solid and suited solo elevates things further. As the song enters it’s final chapter, the pace and intensity picks up to more of a NWOBHM style with heightened vocals and a bit more edge and emphasis on all instruments. The final treat from the epic journey of a track comes with an absolutely phenomenal solo.
We feel like I have just listened to a whole album in this one song.

To From Whence hits us with a short thrashy track that will fire up pits and get heads and necks working. Strong drums, bassy riffs and gang vocal shouts in the chorus all add fire and fury to this little ripper of a song. An enjoyable track sure to be a banger in the live environment.
Time for another change in style with Schwarzschild Radius. Gentler melody leads us in with nicely sung vocals. There is a touch of epicness, of grandiosity, to the intro which gets backed up when the gentler touches drop and we get a slam of heavy riffs, booming drums and elevated vocals. Drops back down to melody, then transitions into heavier stuff add excitement and a dollop of melodrama. I’m a big fan of the bass leading the transition into a rolling thunder/stampede section which is just perfect. The riffs and drums roll and force movement before the lead guitars take over and treat us to a soaring and extended solo that will have you dusting off that air guitar. The drop then back into softer melody leads us out in gorgeous fashion closing a masterful track.

”Cruel and Unusual” continues with Liberator. This track was written by High Council and Chris Haring, and also contains a lyrical excerpt from The Liberator, originally published January 1, 1831 by William Lloyd Garrison. The traditional feeling is prominent here with very catchy melody, punchy riffs and pacy drums. I like how the vocal passages are punctuated by short solos and the chorus is catchy, really well sung and packs really strong harmonising. Speaking of harmonies, the vocalists are confident enough to go full acapella for a passage too and still sound great. That signals a change to a darker vibe led by some powerful vocals and expert guitar work. High Council could never be accused of being predictable.

Jackal is up next and at just over 7 minutes long, offers a lot. Darkened melody starts us off with that feeling added to by the soft but threatening opening choral vocals. You feel bedded in, like something important is about to happen. The metal picks up in both volume, tempo and power with chunky bass lines, expert drumming and a dual vocalist performance that earns huge respect. It’s very atmospheric as a track in this style, though that atmosphere is one of despair and despondence. High Council have delivered a really clever, and really well written song here.
We approach the end of this epic journey with the penultimate track, Plaguebringer 2025. A song that comes with additional lead guitars written and performed by Dino DiDomenico. Another long one, at near 8 minutes, it is a huge track that is packed full of what we now know as High Council’s standard level of variety and creative genius.

Sadly ”Cruel and Unusual” must come to an end though and does so with the track Wildspace. It’s another really cool song and shows some more ideas and creativity delivering a full instrumental. Played at pace with basically a collection of riffs, drums, bass and lead guitars just going to town but led by some hyped up synth lines as the spine throughout, it’s a strong ending.

We don’t want to leave this review with even the hint of a negative though because High Council deserve praise for ”Cruel and Unusual.” An album that thrills and excites consistently throughout. The band showcase a diverse range of talents, ability and ideas and deliver an album that is “unusual” but in the best possible way. An album that you will go back to, time and time again, uncovering more and more as you do.
Highly Recommended

01 – Cruel and Unusual
02 – Routed in the Wood (By Eldlings and Brackenguard)
03 – To From Whence
04 – Schwarzschild Radius
05 – Liberator
06 – Jackal
07 – Plaguebringer 2025
08 – Wildspace

Bob Saunders – Guitars, Vocals
Steve Donahue – Guitars, Vocals
Lou DiDomenico – Bass, Keyboards
Greg “Wolfman Vegas” McKeever – Drums

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www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DVLJ24TL