I have got to admit that of all the things I was expecting out of 2025, a massive surge of quality folk metal was simply not something that I figured would happen in any form. The style has always been a bit of a sore spot in the world of metal in my opinion given all the latent potential that’s to be had across the board for such a sound that can be capable of a great deal despite the sad reality that not many are able to deliver on such high promise. That’s a big reason why 2025 stands out for there has been a staggering number of bands come forth that are able to capture the spirit of folk metal itself in its amorphous form with there still more on the horizon. With their tenth album, Concrete Age adds further fuel to the magnificent fire.

When you’re in the game for well over ten years, it is only natural that you become downright masterful with your sound and all that it can be with the only limitation that you could have simply being your imagination. If you can get over that hurdle, then anything feels possible. Folk metal has any number of different ethnic backgrounds, mythologies, and folklore to pull from across the globe with there always being new territory ripe for exploration with that being something only the finest in this sound can ascertain and keep a firm grip on. Throughout the entirety of “Awaken the Gods”, Concrete Age shows us how it’s done in exemplary fashion! Singularly captivating across an expansive ten tracks that offer loads of power, menace, melody, and understanding of the craft at hand, this is an effort that does far more than simply tap into what this particular corner of metal can become – Concrete Age encapsulates it all, body and soul! A dense and intoxicating Eastern inspiration that feels genuine through the specific instruments used in their full brilliance and songwriting that truly grabs you by the throat to offer not so much as a shred of reprieve, the very whole of “Awaken the Gods” takes its own name incredibly seriously as Concrete Age readies this plane for the arrival of beings far greater than ourselves with their awesome and terrific might something that can only be heralded by a force whose overwhelming strength is not to be denied with Concrete Age the perfect vessel to bring that all about in stupendous form.

We’ve been spoiled rotten with quality folk metal in recent months, and this is just the icing on the cake. The entirety of this creation can be used as a magnificent blueprint for what anyone can do in order to achieve greatness undeniable with damn near every given aspect of this creation something that cannot be ignored for it is every ingredient of this dense swirling soup that a tremendous meal is born out of with each piece complimenting the last. “Awaken the Gods” has much to call its own with inadequacy simply nowhere to be found.

LISTEN to “Awaken the Gods” on Bandcamp here.

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