With “Harbingers,” BYZANTINE has created what may be the crown jewel of their impressive seven-album discography. Front man and founding member Chris Ojeda states, "After 25 years of riding the struggle bus, we're ready to show the rock and metal world what we're truly about. We've put all our chips on the table with “Harbingers." The album delivers nine tracks totaling 45 minutes of deep lyrical wisdom alongside equally hefty riffs - worthy of one of the most commanding and unsung lineups to emerge from the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement in the early 2000s.

The album has nine songs, and “Consequentia” is first; a short instrumental introduction. It feels smooth to me, unbarred, and somewhat solemn. “Tomorrow will bring what today has made” he prophesizes. It segues into “A Place We Cannot Go,” which has firmer and darker tones, but a steady groove remains. It’s a hard sound to encapsulate…it’s Heavy Metal, that’s for sure, but it rides the fence between many styles, seemingly only committing to that moniker. The vocals are mostly clean, but the band also dabbles in harsh vocals every now and again. “Floating Chrysanthema” has another hardened sets of riffs sandwiched into a deep groove, and the harsh vocals work much better in this song, as do the thumping bass notes.

“The Clockmaker’s Intention” is a classic Thrash offering that also mixes in some groove elements. The combination of the two is what makes the music feel so alive, and the chorus takes a turn into melodic territory. “Riddance” begins with a dark and heavy riff and a seemingly straightforward approach, so when melody prances in, it is a surprise…but a nice one. It’s a simple rhyme, but oh so pleasing. “Kobayashi Maru” has a raucous riff that is akin to tearing the Band-Aid off a wound…it hurts like hell, but feels so good afterwards. The album grows darker and heavier towards the end. “Irene” is the final cut, and although it begins gently, it ends up harder, but there is still a good deal of melody here.

In a world populated by a metric ton of bands aspiring to be the most original, and often something that they are not, BYZANTINE remind the music world that were things began is often where they return. I am embarrassed to say that I was not familiar with the band before completing this review, but now they have a new fan.