Formed in 2020 and hailing from Vigo, Spain, Unchosen Ones deal in melodic heavy metal. Since their formation, the band have kept active, releasing an EP in 2021 (Kill The Night), a debut full-length in 2023 (Sorrow Turns To Dust), and now a sophomore effort in the form of Divine Power Flowing.
A nine-track album, Divine Power Flowing takes its musical cues from the likes of Firewind, Orden Ogan, Rage, and Kamelot, while the lyrics nod to both the troubles of life and a lifelong love of computer games, with Castlevania and Bloodborne directly inspiring Caught By The Wind and Whirligig Saw respectively.
The album opens with the epic Idols And Kings, a track which, with its cinematic intro, aims for the blood and thunder of early Iron Maiden. With its relentless percussive backdrop (all double kick and crashing cymbals), razor-sharp guitars, and histrionic vocals, it’ll have power metal fans hooked, and it certainly makes quite the impression. Next up, The Void is dispatched with maximum speed, impressively arranged strings swirling around the chunky riffs, which helps to keep things memorable. Interestingly the vocals are far less produced than is common with this type of music. This is not necessarily a bad thing, although there are moments where a touch of reverb might help them to sit more comfortably within the mix. The pace slows a touch on Cursed Without A Cause, at least for the introduction, with the band deftly weaving a number of influences into the mix, from Judas Priest and Queensryche on one side to Brad Fidel on the other. It’s another solid song, the heavy use of synth nodding to the likes of The Terminator while the riffs and solos pile up around it. Once again, however, the vocals just seem to sit to far forward in the mix, occasionally feeling as if band and vocalist are in competition with one another.
The next two songs step further into the world of fantasy, with lyrics influenced by a pair of classic computer games. The first of these, Whirligig Saw nods to Bloodborne and the hard-edged riffing certainly suits the title. With more than a touch of early Maiden about it, it’s a lot of fun, and stands as an easy album highlight. Next up, Caught By The Wind (which takes its inspiration from Castlevania), opens to the unexpected sound of an orchestra warming up before the band once again set off on a hard-galloping number that finds the band gleefully throwing everything but the kitchen sink into an arrangement that includes massed vocals, symphonic elements, time changes, and frantic, balls-to-the-wall riffing.
The title track, which takes its cue from Manga classic Fist Of The North Star, is a slower number that takes Eye Of The Tiger as its starting point and works its way forward from there. Less effective than much of the material that makes up the album, it feels just a little too in thrall to the likes of Survivor and Europe and, while it does build up quite a head of steam, you find yourself waiting for a classic hook that never quite comes. Another track that focuses on melody over might, Synthetic Wave Horizon emerges from the sound of oars dipping in the water to provide some tasty lead work, only for the vocals to once again dominate the mix.
With the album rapidly approaching its conclusion, Midnight Mass has a cool minor key melody and some chunky riffing, although the wide-eyed chorus dispels some of the atmosphere established on the verse. Nevertheless, some seriously cool guitar work in the final third does much to impress, and the song emerges as a minor triumph. The album wraps up with Death And Deliverance. With a doom-laden introduction and cracking central riff, only slightly undone by a bouncy synth line drawn straight out of Harold Faltermyer’s box of tricks, it’s a decent finale to a largely impressive effort.
Divine Power Flowing is a solid melodic heavy metal album with impressive arrangements and a number of memorable songs to its credit. While there are moments where the band’s ambitions seem to outpace their production resources – most notably on those moments where the vocals seem to dominate the mix – the album does, for the most part, land with real force. Not without its flaws, then, but Divine Power Flowing still has enough about it to ensure that fans of the genre will find much to enjoy here. 7/10
