Progress without estrangement is a rare craft that very few bands truly master. All too often, a band ventures so far from its roots it that loses its trademark sound. And every so often, a band’s stagnation drains all of its charm. Finding that rare balance between the two is a huge task not easily accomplished. And yet there is a band that has been coming close to that perfect balance more and more over the course of the past few years. A band that, ironically, already bears that balance in its well-known name: EQUILIBRIUM.

 

Born in 2001 in Southern Bavaria, the band has long become an Epic Metal powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with. Now, their latest, sixth record “Renegades” is heralding a watershed, the turn of an era for this genre. This is not only because they broke the all too rigid chains of pagan metal – a feat they already pulled off with their last effort “Armageddon” (2016) storming to an impressive number five in the German album charts. No, this time around, “Renegades” shows a band unleashed, a band triumphantly marching to the very top. This is metal at its most epic and most monumental, bearing huge songs, resting firmly in the Zeitgeist with a massive, modern production and sporting quite a number of eclectic influences: Electronic elements, dystopian samples, Soundtrack grandeur, rock and roll energy and a rather surprising but very beguiling rap courtesy of Rapcore baddies Butcher Sisters. And before the bleating erupts: It’s working, it’s blending in - and above all, it’s still Equilibrium. Quite possibly more than ever.