Heavy metal always has been a form of escapism, both with its glorious sound and tendency to delve in the fantastical. No other form of music is this well-equipped to tell huge stories through music, whether it’s ancient poetic epics, sword-clashing legends involving dragons, or takes about a great metallic liberator soaring through the skies.

Ever since their inception, Eternal Champion have created classic-style metal that sounds huge and tells tales that go beyond our world. The band—vocalist Jason Tarpey, guitarist John Powers, guitarist/bassist/synth player Arthur Rizk, drummer/synth player Connor Doneghan—returns with a new two-song EP “Friend of War,” a collection inspired by Karl Edward Wagner’s character Kane, whose battle-tested adventures and challenging character arc have dotted novels (this EP is based on Dark Crusade) and short stories.  Here you get two much larger tracks than we expect from the band—one that is classic Eternal Champion and an instrumental that suggests more is going on than suspected.  

The title track is the 13:09-long opener, the dramatic start feeling like credits crawling over the beginning scene, guitars trickling before the gates are kicked down. Tarpey’s singing swells, “Once more I’ve thrown my soul, this evil I sought, in secret fanes and dark crusades, I’ll fight them all.” Howls dig as the leads go off, the repeated cries of, “Dark crusade,” spilling into classic acoustic washes, giving off a sense of elegance. Guitars flow again as the soloing soars, the drumming pounding away before a new sense of fantasy opens and chills. The playing feels like a hallucination after taking serious damage, organs glazing, Tarpey howling, “I am the friend of war,” the melodies fading into time. “YSLSL” follows, a fever-dream instrumental that rumbles, a passage about Kane recited as sound swells in your ears. The whole thing feels like the score to a violent epic, beats pulsing, iron clanging, harps chiming, giving off noxious fumes. A spacey ambiance lands, sounds vibrating and swelling, keys murmuring, speaking echoing off into the distance.

Eternal Champion’s commitment to Kane’s tale and their epic brand of heavy metal sounds great in longer form, and whether or not this is just an experiment, it’s an exciting leap forward for the band. Plus, the instrumental piece adds nuance and mystery to what the band already does so well. This is a nice appetizer (granted a hefty one) before their next album, and every moment makes your blood pulse.

For more on the band, go here: https://eternalchampion.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album go here: https://eternalchampion.bandcamp.com/album/friend-of-war