French metallers Existance are back! Breaking The Rock, the title track from their last album, released in 2016, is still a staple on Sentinel Daily Radio‘s playlists five years later, and, if there is nothing on new album Wolf Attack to quite rival the anthemic majesty of that cut, the good news is that, in almost every other way, the band have gone onwards and upwards from where they were half a decade ago!

In a nutshell, Existance have created a near-perfect slab of melodic trad/power metal with Wolf Attack, in the process unleashing eleven tracks that cover all the bases a fan of modern heavy metal traditionalism could hope for… Opening brace Highgate Vampire and Deathbringer will have fans of the heavier end of the spectrum salivating for sure, but as the album progresses vocalist/guitarist Julian Izard and company extend their scope immensely, meaning that just about everyone who reads Sentinel Daily will find large amounts to enjoy.

Power of the Gods sees the band muscling in on the territory usually occupied by Canadian scene-leaders Striker, whilst Rock n’Roll and You Gotta Rock It are surely headed straight to radio with their classy melodic structures. Sniper Alley, the album’s epic at six and a half minutes is pure classic metal personified, whilst the title track is the closest here in terms of recreating the sheer excitement engendered in 2016 by Breaking The Rock. And I still haven’t yet mentioned the stupendously over-the-top power ballad Tears of Fire…

You’re probably getting the picture now – wherever you drop the needle you’re confronted by sheer heavy metal bliss! There are a couple of moments where the album drops off the pace a little, but even here, on the tracks Preacher of Insanity and Jenny’s Dreams, there is plenty to enjoy. The band round things out with the sublime Gwendoline, sung in French and a superb, nicely different way to bring matters to a close.

As we frequently say here at SD, the world of traditional/power metal is in rude health at the moment – but that makes it a very competitive area to be releasing an album into in 2021. Many, many have tried this year, but very few have managed to match the sheer class and skill of Existance on Wolf Attack. You must own this album!


Wolf Attack releases on October 29th.