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Unleash the Archers - "Cleanse the Bloodline" (Video Premiere)

Though known for other types of metal, Canada is not generally known for its power metal. Quebec has righteous technical death metal and black metal scenes, and the rest of the nation seems to regularly produce many acclaimed blackened death metal bands such as Blasphemy, Revenge and Mitochondrion, but power metal? Surely not.

However, Canada actually boasts a strong crop of power metal bands, notably Vancouver’s Unleash the Archers. Lead by frontwoman Brittney Slayes and drummer Scott Buchanan, Unleash the Archers have crafted a sound which laces traditional power metal melodies and thematic elements with melodic death metal’s harsh vocals and heavier “breakdown” riffs. From their impending fourth album, titled Apex, comes a new music video for “Cleanse the Bloodline,” which you can view below.

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Unleash the Archers generally prefers videos which center around an area of cultural relevance. As an example, the first video from their last album was inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road in regalia and tone. Following in their “relevance” theme, the music video for “Cleanse the Bloodline” is a journey into fantasy realm with a very Game of Thrones-inspired feeling. Featuring the band clad in warpaint and cloaks playing the song in front of a large bonfire, the video is intercut with scenes of a cloaked woman acting out epic and dark scenes, culminating in the song’s central theme: “cleansing the bloodline.”

The song, maybe one of Unleash the Archers’ best, is a bombastic and powerful slice of power metal. Stylistically epic, the soaring, infectious melody found in the chorus allows Slayes to show off her considerable pipes. Ending in a choir-led coda, which is what I feel to be the best thing any power metal song can do, “Cleansing the Bloodlines”‘s conclusion matches the tone of its video.

Early returns on this newest Unleash the Archers album are incredibly promising and signals what is undoubtedly their finest work to date.

-Kevin Zecchel

Apex will be released June 2nd on Napalm Records. Pre order here.
Follow Unleash the Archers on Bandcamp and Facebook.