Review FINAL CRY ‘The Ever-Rest’

Germany’s thrash-/death metal band Final Cry started their musical adventure in 1992 and debuted in 1997 with ‘Wavecrest’. Since more than thirty years, Final Cry stands for well-made metal with raw power and edges.

Built on a rather stable line-up it was singer Kai Wilhelm who joined the band in 2021 and the new album ‘The Ever-Rest’ that features his vocals. Wilhelm has a rough and bit hoarse voice which fits the sound of Final Cry. At the same time, the frontman can also handle a solid melody, mirrored in song like the title track.

‘The Ever-Rest’ is Final Cry’s sixth album and it features ten new songs of which ‘The Brotherhood of the Rope’ is the intro. As the play of words in the album title indicates, the album is conceptionally a mountaineer epos with a created ambiguity. The concept, in the responsibility of Burkhardt Sonnenburg, includes real stories, being the spark for the album. Supported by a 20-page story-booklet, the band didn’t shy away from investing in their new record. This booklet provides interesting background information for each of the real stories as well as photos from a time when alpine climbing was much more than bringing people with a helicopter close to the summit cross for a senseless photo.

The musical side fits in good fashion to the lyrical approach. Melodic death metal is the base for this musical adventure into the sometimes deadly uncertainty of the alpine world. Although it isn’t the freezing cold wind blowing into your face, the riffs take over instead. ‘The Reckoning Silence’ is a good example for the riff-power the band generate on their newest delivery.

The middle part of the album reflects the musical tactics of the album quite well since ‘Seven Summits’ is the furious side of Final Cry’s music, followed by the cinematic ‘Ascending the Avalanche’. The latter is a heavy pounding metal track that is the musical equivalent to the energy of an avalanche. It’s an unstoppable force that echoes in riffs and harsh vocals. Growls, screams and clean vocals, Wilhelm has it all in his repertoire and it helps the album to tell the story.

Mount Everest is a place some mountaineers found their ever-rest. ‘The Ever-Rest’, in contrary, is the most mature and well-crafted metal record from Final Cry. The guys brought their sound to a next level, reflected by good songs that found a spot on their newest effort. Rock-solid.