Byzantine Harbingers CD Review
Obviously, years of substance and musical abuse have blessed me with the ability to completely overlook several bands that I once hyped up. I try to follow up on the artists I’ve covered, honestly! But, as with many good intentions, some slip through the cracks.
Today’s overdue follow-up is on the West Virginia Metal outfit Byzantine. They fall squarely into the category of “bands I once covered and promptly forgot existed.” I first wrote about them during their run on Prosthetic Records, when they were pushing “And They Shall Take Up Serpents”. I still have that CD somewhere in my stacks, hell, I even dust it off every now and then. I remember it being mean, aggressive, and absolutely fitting for Prosthetic’s roster back then.
To my surprise, Byzantine are not only still around but thriving. After a brief breakup several years back, they’ve regrouped, signed with Metal Blade Records, and are set to release their latest full-length, “Harbingers”, on June 13th.
Diving into “Harbingers”, it’s immediately clear - this is NOT the same band I remember from 2005. Back then, they had a Southern-fried Groove Metal meets Metalcore thing going on, like a bunch of dudes who chugged Pantera and then dove headfirst into the Metalcore gold rush. And hey, who didn’t back then?
Now? They’ve evolved. Big time. Harbingers leans heavily into Progressive Groove Metal, with a surprising (and welcome) amount of clean singing. Normally, clean vocals in this context feel forced, like someone dared the vocalist to sing nicely in the middle of a bar fight. But here? It works. The clean passages feel deliberate and sharp, never out of place.
Production-wise, they brought in Peter Wichers (of All That Remains, Nevermore, and Soilwork fame), and the results speak for themselves. The album is slick without being sterile - tight, punchy, and layered with just enough polish to let the riffs shine without sanding off the edges.
And speaking of riffs, this album is stuffed with them. Byzantine puts on a full-blown clinic in guitar sorcery. Razor-sharp lead breaks, chunky grooves, and an absolute arsenal of hooks. It’s clear they set out to make a catchy metal album, which, in today’s climate of sonic concrete mixers, feels borderline rebellious.
This is an album that could (and should) win them a whole new fanbase. If Metal Blade puts them on the right tour, “Harbingers” could be their breakout moment.
Standout tracks: “A Place We Cannot Go”, “Floating Chrysanthema”, “Harbinger” and “The Unobtainable Sleep”