_{Review by Cerrin Hendricks (@panicpreacher)}

Saigon-based metal group Bedlam Royals, formed from the ashes of the now defunct Serbian group LEER, have just released their debut record The Gap. Led by Viktor Nagradic, the group is a melting pot of different cultures and backgrounds. This bleeds into their art, with themselves labelling their mix of folk, gypsy jazz, post-metal and hard rock “free” metal. The record is accompanied by a booklet featuring the artwork of Elcrost’s Hoàng Đạo Hiếu, a unique touch and one which adds a level of depth to the release. 

The first track of the record is ‘Sentinels II‘, which starts off with a haunting guitar passage that draws the listener in as a chorus-laden bass and drum groove by bassist Stephen Nguyen and drummer Callum Rollo fills things out. The track builds on a ride and tom groove that slowly amps up the tension with guitar breaks that keep hinting at heaviness but hang back until the outro bursts forth in a display of powerful rhythms and lead work by guitarists Nagradic and Mike Cohen respectively. A great opener with an excellent outro.

‘Asana’ cuts back to another haunting intro, reprising the feel of the previous intro with another bass and drum groove based on tom-work and an effected bassline. This is however short lived as the song breaks into a sludgy and chunky riff, which forms the main hook of the song. The true treat of this track is the excellent vocal work of Nagradic, which perfectly complements the instrumentals and ranges from an almost alt-rock style to all-out screams. Once again the duelling guitars drive this song to a conclusion that somehow leaves you wanting more out of an 8 minute track, which is a feat in and of itself. This leads into ‘Butterfly Skull‘, which builds up a lush soundscape with an almost Akira Yamaoka style lead tone on the guitar. The pace picks up about halfway through the song and showcases Cohen’s skills on the guitar with a tasteful solo that adds a lot of flavor to the track. The ending rhythm of the track shows a mature approach, knowing when to hold back and when to unleash the heaviness. The drums and bass really sweeten things up and hold up the guitars here wonderfully. 

The end feedback of the song blends with the intro of ‘Morphing Time’, a moody tune which keeps things interesting through sudden tempo and pacing changes from the rhythm section. The outro keeps the moody atmosphere with layered guitars that could go on forever. The rhythm guitar sound on this gives an almost post alt-metal feeling, with a cinematic feeling underneath the softer crunchy lead tones. 

‘Ode not to a king‘ completely breaks away from the formula established by the other songs and is all the more powerful for it. Opening up immediately into the chorus, the song grabs attention and refuses to let go. The addition of vocals from the entire band gives the song an epic feeling that puts it apart from the other songs on the album. The song is short and doesn’t overstay its welcome before ‘Ta73′, which goes back to the softer openings of the other songs. The ethereal nature of this intro works well after the heavy impact of the previous song. The alt-rock pacing shift in the middle of the song keeps things fresh whilst still fitting coherently on the album much in the vein of the previous songs, with the tremolo section of the song being a highlight. Things slow down towards the end as things conclude with layered guitar parts bouncing off of each other. The bass and drums glue it all together as the guitars duel to the end of the track. 

The companion art book was fascinating to page through as the album played out and helped capture the essence of each track in a visual format. Listening with it on-hand added much to the experience. The band chose not to release the record on Spotify and rather went with the more grassroots approach of using Bandcamp as their main platform. The art book contains a link to download the album at the back, a nice touch for fans who bought it upon release. 

The main criticism that can be leveled at this record is that the intros seem to fall into a safe space of clean guitar followed by a slow buildup on the bass and drums. This is a staple of post-metal and post-rock and whilst fitting, is where the most exciting changes could come in the future. 

Overall, a stellar first record and one that will stand the test of time with its tasteful mix of alt-rock, post-metal, folk, gypsy jazz and alt-metal. For fans of ISIS, God Is An Astronaut, Cult of Luna, Mastodon and Chevelle. 

8.5/10