It’s time to welcome the Finnish Power metal band Gloriam Dei. The name of the band is Latin and means God’s glory. If you look at the cover art, you can see light, or the glory of God, shining down on the man. They formed in 2013, but released their debut album in 2015. You’re probably thinking: “Why now?” Well, they are busy making an new album called The Midnight Sun and with this you have an introduction to this band.
I’m a big fan of Power Metal when it is done well and I must say this band did that for me the second I heard their first number. Their opening song Bethlehem sucks you in and that’s exactly the thing it’s supposed to do. The voice of Sami Asp fits exactly into this genre and gives me the feeling of one of my personal favorite Power Metal bands, Impellitteri from Sweden. Sami also plays the guitar together with Jarmo Happonen. I must say, as a guitarist, I really like the way they play guitar. It’s powerful and very melodic. The solo on the first song really stands out. I really like the switches between the guitar player and the synthesizer. The song The Covenant has an amazing build towards the end of the song. The switches in the songs between the rough bits and some slower bits makes it not only pleasant to listen to, but also makes it their signature sound.
The quality of the production is very good. I really like the way the songs are listed. After The Covenant—a song that’s pretty slow—they put the song Blindmen, which has a pretty heavy feel to it. This makes the contrast very vivid and they did that with great precision.
The lyrics are very uplifting to me. The way they sing about the coming of Christ and Jesus in general is giving me hope. They make music with an amazing message and it shows that metal doesn’t have to be violent, which is exactly what I get from them.
Rating: 8,4/10
Written by Joshua
Tracklist:
01. Bethlehem
02. Treasures of Heaven
03. Sins of the World
04. Rest in You
05. 11 000
06. The Covenant
07. Blindmen
08. Jokainen
09. Look to the Cross
10. John 6
11. We will see again
Band members:
Johannes Häkämies (composer, synthesizer)
Sami Asp (vocals, lead guitar)
Jarmo Happonen (rhythm guitar)
Ville Karhu (drums)
Record Label: Independent, Nov. 2015
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for “The Covenant” (Album Teaser)
Lyric Video ‘Rest In You’