Dreadnought‘s mix of prog, death metal, folk, and atmospheric post-rock continues paying dividends on their sixth full-length album.
Release date: September 11, 2026 | Vesperian GmbH | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp
Colorado’s Dreadnought has, since 2013’s Lifewoven, maintained a fascinating singular lane in the metal sphere. Combining elements from death metal, progressive rock, and folk is not exactly a novel proposition – Opeth did that for 15 years before shedding their skin and going full Yes (only to come back around again, thankfully). However, what the Denver quartet do with those influences is markedly different: heaping helpings of piano, flute, and mandolin give their music a more experimental flare, while vocalist/guitarist/multi-talent Kelly Schilling tops it all off with both her angelic singing and demonic screeching. I had the pleasure of seeing them earlier this year at Fire in the Mountains, and it was a joy witnessing them do what they do best: take the audience on a journey through serene bliss and devastating extremity. Not many bands can lay claim to playing on sacred Native American ground, providing guest vocals/flute for the mighty SubRosa‘s live return at said festival, and recording a Nine Inch Nails cover for a tribute album all in the space of a calendar year.
Longtime listeners will hear subtle differences on the group’s sixth full-length, Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light. The production is cleaner – the drums in particular slam rather than PING (as they did on Lifewoven), and the arrangements are as ambitious as ever. “Tiamat’s Gate” wastes no time settling in, the mid-tempo Agalloch-esque instrumental providing the perfect backdrop. ‘Is it all in my head/Crying out for you/Have I met my end?‘, Schilling coos as the instrumentalists swirl around her. Gentle chimes bring the nine-minute opening track to a close after an astonishing passage filled with raging blastbeats, ringing piano, and Schilling at her most heavenly-sounding. It is, in a word, stunning.
By contrast, “The Archive” runs a brisk four-and-a-half minutes, blasting out of the gate with double bass drumming and deep growls from guitarist Ryan Sims before Schilling re-enters, incanting about being ‘Covered in the blood of broken dreams‘. Drummer Jordan Clancy shines on this track, effortlessly navigating around the changing time signatures with lightning-fast footwork and fills toward the end. “Colors Of Our Broken Hearts” starts off very dramatically, its stomping 6/8 meter complementing its hypercharged post-rock feel; when the tremolo guitar and double-time drum smashing enter in the last leg while Schilling calls out about ‘who we are‘, the result is powerful and uplifting. Producer Julius Mauranen, a veteran of several Oranssi Pazuzu albums, piles on the reverb in a maelstrom of surging sound; overwhelming, to be certain, but damn impressive.
Dreadnought work some of that NIN cover’s influence into the industrial throb of “Aeonwar”, at least before the blistering percussion and hair-raising screaming bust in. The vocal interplay, piercing synths, and guitar work on this one are absolutely demented, and Schilling follows suit with some hair-raising operatic yowling around the midpoint. Her spoken word piece at the end – ‘And so they met their grand awakening/With nothing but spirit to guide them‘ – lives up to the band’s self-described ‘world-building metal etherea’ that they strive for. Closing track “The Twilight Protectorate” works in every ingredient in Dreadnought‘s arsenal, with the cool ’80s-style keyboards and Julie Christmas-esque sneering from Schilling being supremely enjoyable additions to the band’s sonic brew. The song’s final salvo – the guitars and drums nigh melodeath in sound and execution – brings the curtain down on Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light in spectacular fashion.
Although they haven’t reinvented their own wheel, Dreadnought give longtime fans exactly what they want: more of the same, but refined and matured. If you’re already a fan, there will be plenty to chew on here, and if you’re not, you’re sure to be enchanted by what they’ve cooked up.
