ROGUE AWAKENING Kicks The Year Off With Heavy New Single “Take My Pleasure”

[photo: Rogue Awakening]

As above, so below, take my blood, watch it flow

I became familiar of UK metallers ROGUE AWAKENING last year, reeled in by the atmospherics and the theatrical nature of their performances. Whilst I haven't yet been able to make it to a show, previous release "Remain Untamed" quickly made its presence known in my regular rotation. You can understand my excitement then, when the band's latest release, "Take My Pleasure", came my way.

An atmospheric clean guitar intro opens the track up, vocalist Kimberly floating above. The band 'lore' sees Kimberly as this Dark Queen figure, and so the eerily enchanting tone she carries with this fits perfectly, acting almost like a siren song in its execution. The main riff, when it quickly kicks in, has a distinct melodic metal edge. Fans of the band's previous releases will be at home here.

As expected with this genre, each chorus is bold and climactic, a great display of musicianship. The breakdown and solo towards the end sees the band embrace their darker side, which is always a delight. This leads nicely into one final chorus, a flurry of instruments as the intensity picks up for a culminating strike.

"Take My Pleasure" is out now [photo: Rogue Awakening]

I was worried on first listen that it wouldn't quite live up to expectations, a victim of unfamiliarity perhaps. I'm glad that wasn't the case. "Take My Pleasure" puts Rogue Awakening on a great start to the year, and I've no doubt the band will continue to carve their space in the scene.

"Take My Pleasure" is out NOW on streaming