Telomyras Duskfall Review: Power Metal Cosplays as a Knife Fight

Telomyras Duskfall swerves from heroic trad metal to blackened thrash mid-song—sometimes brilliant, sometimes awkward, always loud about it.

Let’s be honest: this album starts as a trick

I hit play expecting a fairly straightforward throwback metal record—gallops, shiny choruses, the whole “raise your sword” routine. Telomyras Duskfall doesn’t exactly refuse that… it just treats it like a mask it can rip off whenever it feels like getting ugly.

And yes, it feels intentional. Not “we’re eclectic” intentional. More like: we’re going to show you how quickly a good time can turn hostile.

“Reckoning” is where the switchblade comes out

The opener “Reckoning” walks in wearing classic heavy metal perfume: ’80s-style galloping riffs and big operatic vocals that are practically begging you to grin. For a moment, it sets up this comfy retro promise—like the album is going to be a neat little museum tour.

Then it flips.

A veil of darkness drops in so abruptly it feels like the band changed genres without warning the drummer. The vocals go from soaring to scorched-earth presence—like Sammie Gorham just stepped into a different story. I can’t tell if the first time it happens it’s supposed to be funny or terrifying, and honestly, that uncertainty is part of the charm.

Then—because this record loves messing with your expectations—it flips back about a minute later. The “dark fantasy horror” energy retreats into the trees and the song finishes like a trad metal number again, the kind of thing you could imagine living near the CASTLE RAT lane of theatrical, old-school heavy metal.

That first track basically teaches you the album’s main language:
- Start heroic
- Get bleak
- Return like nothing happened
And somehow, it works more often than it should.

The album’s real concept: momentum, then sabotage

Here’s what Telomyras Duskfall seems to be doing: it builds adrenaline, then undermines it. Not because the band can’t pick a style—because they can, and they keep proving it—but because they want the listener slightly off-balance.

That’s clearest when the record leans into speed and anthem energy.

“Burden” is the album pretending it’s just here to party

“Burden” is a fast-paced, high-energy blast that feels designed to make you nod along without thinking too hard. It’s catchy in that revivalist way—clean, bright, and impatient. The chorus energy is the selling point: it feels like the band is daring you to resist singing along, even if you’re the type who claims you “don’t do choruses.”

And I’ll make an arguable claim: this is the album at its most accessible, but not at its most interesting. The fun is real, but it’s also the setup. Telomyras uses tracks like this to get you comfortable—then they pull the floorboards out.

“Witch” is the deliberate mood-killer—and it’s kind of great

If the first two songs are about forward motion, “Witch” feels like it was written specifically to interrupt it. Slower. Ominous. A drag-you-into-the-basement kind of pacing.

The wild part is how it gets cruel without needing harsh vocals. There’s a confidence there: like the band knows atmosphere can be violent on its own. The vibe lands like a nasty fantasy-movie sequence—the musical equivalent of villains drugging you with mushrooms and deciding you won’t be leaving the dungeon. No, it’s not subtle, but it doesn’t need to be. The song’s job is to sour the sugar rush from earlier, and it does.

An arguable take: “Witch” is the album’s best proof that Telomyras isn’t just stitching styles together—they’re controlling the listener’s nervous system.

Video: “Attrition” (and yes, it hits like a hammer)

The screams don’t stay away for long. They come back promptly on “Attrition,” which, to my ears, is the heaviest moment on the record.

“Attrition” goes full death-thrash, and it’s the point where I stopped doubting them

I thought the harsh stuff on the opener might be a one-off shock tactic—like a band with one scary costume they really want you to notice. But “Attrition” proves the extreme-metal side isn’t decoration. This track commits.

It comes off as death-thrash with real bite: not just faster riffs, but a colder, more aggressive frame around everything. Sammie Gorham alternating vocal styles is what sells it—the switching isn’t random, it’s dramatic. Like the clean voice is the narrator and the harsher voice is the thing the narrator keeps trying not to become.

And the guitar solo? It’s the kind that doesn’t just scream “guitar solo,” it actually adds something—sharp, purposeful, and placed where the track needs a surge.

Arguable statement: “Attrition” is the album’s signature because it stops flirting and starts swinging.

The weird part: the constant switching still feels cohesive

By the time you’re a few tracks in, the album has already made a statement: it can change clothes mid-sentence and still come off like the same person talking.

That’s not easy. A lot of bands try to fuse retro heavy metal with harsher styles and it ends up feeling like two playlists fighting in a hallway. Here, the mood changes feel organic—like the same emotional world, just different weather.

To put it bluntly: this doesn’t sound like retro American power metal awkwardly forced to date heavier genres. It sounds like Telomyras wrote the songs with the swerves baked in, not bolted on later.

I’m not saying every transition is perfectly smooth—sometimes you can feel the seam—but the album’s personality is consistent: dramatic, restless, and a little too excited about the shadows.

The closing stretch: great setup, weaker punch

Here’s where the album tests my patience.

“Despondence” is a strong doorway

“Despondence” works as an intro: it’s cold, it howls, it suggests an ending that’s going to feel huge. The tone is right. It implies the record is about to cash in all that tension it’s been stacking.

“Begin The End” doesn’t quite earn its runtime

Then “Begin The End” arrives and… it doesn’t hit as hard as the album’s earlier highs. The vocal performance is excellent—Sammie sounds committed and present—but the rest of the track feels oddly unremarkable for a finale.

It also hangs around too long. I kept waiting for a hook that would justify the extended runtime, or a turn that would make the ending feel inevitable. Instead, it kind of lingers, like the album wants an epic curtain call but forgot to write the last great scene.

It’s not a disaster. It’s just a letdown compared to how bold the album is when it’s moving fast and taking risks.

And I’ll admit: on my first listen I assumed the closer would become my favorite with time—big ending, big drama, sure. On second listen, I felt the opposite. The earlier tracks keep revealing little choices; the closer mostly just… stays there.

Arguable claim: the album should’ve ended sharper, not longer.

So what’s the actual appeal of Telomyras Duskfall?

Even with the underwhelming finale, Telomyras Duskfall lands as a welcome entry in the trad-metal ecosystem—except it refuses to be only that. It’s clearly pulling from the past, but it keeps dragging modern extremity into the room like it’s part of the furniture.

The best way I can describe it is this: the album feels like it’s vacuumed up equal parts SAVATAGE-style drama and NERVOSA-style aggression, then tried to mold them into one shape without sanding down the edges.

They’re not the finished article. But the ambition is obvious, and the band’s skill is loud enough that I’m willing to forgive a closer that doesn’t fully stick the landing.

Album artwork

Where it stands right now

This is self-released, which fits: the album has that slightly feral “we made this because we needed it to exist” energy. If you want to keep up with the band directly, their Facebook is here: https://www.facebook.com/Telomyras

Conclusion

Telomyras Duskfall is what happens when a band refuses to choose between triumph and threat. The best tracks don’t blend genres so much as weaponize the contrast—making the bright parts feel brighter and the dark parts feel like a sudden drop in temperature.

Our verdict: People who like trad metal but secretly wish it would get meaner will love this. People who want one consistent vibe—pure power metal or pure extreme metal—are going to get annoyed when the album changes its face mid-sentence, then acts innocent about it.

FAQ

• Is Telomyras Duskfall more power metal or more extreme metal?
  It leans trad/power in its hooks and heroic posture, but it keeps cutting in with harsher, darker passages—sometimes inside the same song.
• What track best represents the album’s heaviest side?
  “Attrition” hits hardest, especially with the death-thrash push and the switching vocal styles.
• Does the album feel coherent despite the genre swings?
  Surprisingly, yes—most transitions feel intentional, even if a few seams show.
• Is the ending strong?
  The intro “Despondence” sets a great mood, but “Begin The End” drags and doesn’t deliver enough hooks for its runtime.
• Who is this album actually for?
  Listeners who enjoy dramatic trad metal but also want sudden bleakness and aggression—without a warning label.

If you’re the kind of person who treats album art like part of the listening experience, you can always grab a favorite album cover poster for your wall at our store: https://www.architeg-prints.com — it suits this record’s “heroic until it isn’t” energy.