Artist: Zepter
Country: Austria
Label: High Roller Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2026
After what you can call a very successful first EP in 2024, that saw a reissue on all relevant formats, the Austrian Heavy Metal band Zepter is now back with its debut album. Those who have heard and liked ‘Inferno’ will definitely feel the same enthusiasm for this self-titled album. This is not only a step up musically, but having it released by High Roller Records instead of a couple smaller labels, will definitely help them take a leap forward.
If you indeed had the chance of hearing ‘Inferno’ before, you know that Zepter is all about old fashioned Heavy Metal with little excursions into Hard Rock and the occasional razor-sharp Speed Metal riff. ‘Inferno’ was already nothing short of a stunning debut EP, but things get even more convincing on ‘Zepter’. Not that they have changed things in their musical recipe, but it all seems to fall even better into place than before.
In case this is your first acquaintance with Zepter, they are a vibrant mixture of old Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Angelwitch, Bitches Sin, Saxon, Mercyful Fate, Diamond Head, Pretty Maids, Manilla Road and Witchfynde. While that is not exactly very original, the power of Zepter lies in the near-perfect execution and the production. To start with the latter, while lots of bands sound either “just” very old school or quite the opposite, Zepter finds itself firmly placed in the middle. It definitely bears much of the same vibe and sonic atmosphere of those aforementioned bands, but at the same time they sound more meaty, more heavy. Yet, and this is where the crux lies, not overly produced. Quite a delicate and sophisticated balance.
And, in fact, the way the band crafts its songs is more or less the same. In the song writing department the band strikes a balance between old school analogue and lead-guitar-driven music and that heavy riffing of “modern” old school Heavy Metal. Hence that occasional Speed Metal hook and riff. This makes it a perfect fit with the wave of contemporary bands that (seem to) strive for the same musical result. Fans of bands such as Wytch Hazel, Spell, Borrowed Time, Lord Fist, Demon Bitch, Dracula, Tower, Black Sword Thunder Attack, Eternal Champion, and even Ghost will certainly enjoy this as well.
