Less than two years after their debut, Tyraels Ascension come back swinging with the second part in a trilogy about Tyrael, an angel beset against evil. I reviewed their debut and missed that this is part of a three-album story arc even though the story of Tyrael was brought to life in a video game. Without a game spinoff, TA bring forward another musical portrait in the Tyrael odyssey in “Grave Seeker.”
Formed around the guitar twin attack of Kevin McNeil (Deathbreaker) and Sean Searls (Hangfire, Bury Your Burdens) and vocalist Alex Theeson, TA plays a melodic metal with metalcore sensibilities that thrives on thrashy riffs and intricate guitar leads. Since the last outing, they have welcomed, maybe officially, new drummer Brandon Dorman (A World Without) and bassist Adam Bodkin (Bury Your Burdens). My last review noted tasty guitar work and some dubious production decisions on a melodic metalcore outing. Let’s see how the Pacific Northwesterners are getting on in part two of their epic.
The goodness from their debut is still there and maybe a bit sharper than before: guitar shenanigans abound! However, too much of a good thing is not an awesome thing as I am not met with little else of note, regardless of what rock I look under. The vocals, instruments, songwriting, and concept all seem to mismatch at times leaving a final product less than the sum of their parts.
Reading through interviews, the concept sounds really interesting. Ideas of breaking hold of darkness in our lives fuels the story of Tyrael’s assistance to broken humans in an epic story. My natural slowness in lyrics, further hindered by heavy vocals, makes the illumination from these interviews that much more important. If I were able to decipher the lyrics, it would probably make the concept clearer to me in the music making it a more favorable experience, so keep that in mind as we move along.
The songwriting feels like the band is reaching off the metalcore platform onto the melodic death metal train just as the train is leaving the station. It is between two places. There is a tendency toward intricate lead guitar work reminiscent of August Burns Red over interesting rhythm guitar riffs, but instead of embracing the metalcore tendencies, the songs move toward heavy metal majesty meeting an ambitious concept. The songs feel too long, however there are some cool moments such as the Spanish guitar on “Serpent’s Demise,” the melodic piano outro in “Bittersweet” and the groove in the chorus of “Fire From The Sky,” that reward my patience.
The vocals work for metalcore, but don’t draw me into a dramatic concept album. The three approaches used are hardcore roaring (used in abundance), spoken word, and clean vocals, where two of the three match the metalcore pedigree. The spoken word emphasizes syllables that sounds forced, but when the instruments and the hardcore and cleans connect in the right way, it sounds right.
The technical performances are not bad, but the guitars dominate the sound where I miss the drums and bass due to a mastering that squeezes them out of the mix. When I do catch the drums, the patterns feel pedestrian as if they exist to keep time for the guitarists. Except for “The Summoning,” the bass is also hard to find probably due to the doubling of rhythm guitars. What is left is a competition between vocals and guitars, where the liberal slathering of lead guitars often wins out.
The last two tracks are my favorite. “Tears” goes in a deathcore direction with a triple meter rhythm that connects with me. The rhythm guitars cover the groove with varying patterns in a ‘core style and the outro is a beautiful episode of piano and clean guitars, providing an epic oasis. “Tyrael’s Curse” starts with melancholic strings that leads into variations on the theme with heavy guitars. The instrumental is a simple song in rondo form with diverting episodes in between, effective in conveying the concept of a curse on Tyrael.
I really want to like this album, but no matter how many times I try, I am disappointed. I applaud their talent and serious effort into bringing a concept to life. They resonate as a metalcore band, but the concept is driving for a more epic genre and they didn’t quite figure how to make the two things work. I want to give them another chance, at least to finish the trilogy, but with two strikes, they need to make the next one a grand slam to make Tyrael worth the time.
Rating: 6.5/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – No End In Sight
2 – Darkened Soul
3 – Bittersweet
4 – Fire From The Sky
5 – The Serpents Demise
6 – The Summoning
7 – Search For The Cure
8 – Ethereal
9 – Impossible Decisions
10 – Fragmented Dreams
11 – Tears
12 – Tyraels Curse
Tyraels Ascension is:
Kevin McNeil – lead/rhythm guitar, bass, backing vocals
Sean Searls – lead/rhythm Guitar
Alex Theesen – vocals
Adam Bodkin – bass
Brandon Dorman – drum
Release Date: July 24, 2026
Record Label: Rottweiler Records
Discography:
Hell Walker (2024) [review]
Grave Seeker (2026)
Social Media: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp
Videos:
Bittersweet (Audio Only)
No End In Sight (Audio Only)