TYRANT – Hereafter

Tyrant return from limbo and the recording studio with Hereafter, their first album in twenty-four years and their fourth since their 1985 debut Legions of the Dead. Mainstays Greg May (bass), Rocky Rockwell (guitar), and  drummer Ronnie Wallace are joined by vocalist Robert Lowe, formerly of Candlemass and currently of Grief Collector, among others. The presence of Lowe (as well as the Thomas Cole cover art, another throwback to Candlemass) promises to inject a more epic, doom-inflected quality in the songs, as previous singer Glen May employed a growling delivery among the high notes. After the short mood-setting opener “Tyrant’s Revelation”, Lowe gives a commanding performance on “Dancing on Graves”. The song is an instant reminder of all of the great work Tyrant has done in the past, coupling a rollicking rhythm section with Rockwell’s sharp riffs and air-raid effects.

“The Darkness Comes” picks up the thread. Hereafter‘s Tyrant, not to be confused with the half-dozen other Tyrant’s that have operated over the years,  originally hailed from Pasadena, California and for an American band can replicate the New Wave of British Heavy Metal sound incredibly well as they do on this early-Maidenish cut. They slow the tempo to a slow Doom-y march with “Fire Burns” before heading into the title track, building on an introductory acoustic guitar passage and sinister spoken vocals before taking flight at the chorus.

“Pieces of Mine” is a return to a NWOBHM sound, combining signature Rockwell riffing with layered vocals to  optimal effect. “Until the Day” and “When the Sky Falls” are more of the same, pleasing but unexceptional mid-tempo tracks. “Bucolic” breaks with the pattern slightly, opening with a Rockwell acoustic passage before moving into the familiar cadence, one livened up considerably by one of Lowe’s best vocal performances of the album.

Closer “From the Tower” is suitably epic, riding a solid riff and layered guitars on into the night. The songs’ cathedral-ceiling chorus sets the listener up for a longer work, but at four minutes ends song and album quicker than one may want. There isn’t a great deal of sonic variety on Hereafter, but Tyrant turn consistency into an advantage rather than a weakness through dependable song craft, smart production, and thorough knowledge of their strengths as performers.    Hereafter marks a very welcome return.

Tyrant were slated to headline the New England Stoner and Doom Fest Three at Altone’s Music Hall in beautiful scenic downtown Jewett City, Connecticut in Mid-May, an event sadly pandemically postponed.