Album Review: These Graven Halls by Balmora
Album artwork for “These Graven Halls” by Balmora.
Disclaimer: As of 27.06.26, this article has been edited due to new information from the label.
Balmora took our world by storm when they released their first EP “With Thorns of Glass" back in 2023, and we have seen The Elder Scrolls named band continuously impress us with their music, which is heavily influenced by early 2000’s skinny jean, crab stance style metalcore. They’ve taken us back to the early youtube metalcore days, where a band would be in the middle of a field with a studded belt and a guitar strap down to their knees.
Ophelia, the first single released from the upcoming album, set expectations high with the beautifully done holder feature, with early 2000’s, chaotic, metalcore riffs. The clean vocals on this song seem quite lost within the Alesana style nostalgic sounding instrumentals. While Pray For Plagues inspired music is making a comeback, it definitely has to be done in a certain way. This single paves the way for what is to be expected from the album and since it was received so positively, it leaves little to no room for a decrease in quality.
An Apology Everlasting comes along with the second transition track of the album, reminiscent of Black Veil Brides style of cheesy metalcore, where every song had a transitional track that works well. Although this one isn’t as gripping as the first, it works elegantly with the song The Beautiful Writing. Showcasing a Bring Me The Horizon style guitar tone and a tetris sounding guitar riff, it easily becomes one of the best - if not the best - songs on the album. The chaotic genre changes in the song may not be popular, as it could be interpreted as though they had no idea what direction the song should go in. Balmora have always worn their influences on their sleeves, and this is undeniably a worship piece to the sounds that have made a historical impact.
The video game influences start to get more noticeable around the midpoint of the record, with the sound reminding us of old Bionicle adverts or maybe even Halo. This is even more prevalent in Inheritance & Solitude, with the band noting that they had taken inspiration from video games such as Silent Hill, alongside a sprinkling of the anime Death Note. This is another song that takes you out of it for a second, as it transitions from As Blood Runs Black worship to dungeon synth & black metal. It occasionally strays, but brings it back with a synth leading into a breakdown. While this works in the context of the song, being thrown about genre wise in the middle of song multiple times becomes exhausting after a while.
Timor Mortis is a perfect highlight of what makes Balmora enjoyable, and you can tell this was a song that had cheesy riffs and evil anime villains in mind. While it feels like this might be one of the least popular songs on the album, it definitely is one that is the most memorable. Once again the dungeon synths make an appearance, and it becomes quite charming. This is one of the few songs that doesn’t have a repetitive breakdown nor is it a copy & paste of previous tracks. It brings something unique and individual with it, which this record benefits from.
While there are many songs that are notable, a lot of the music seems to repeat itself, resulting in an exhausting and forgettable experience. There are only so many slow mosh parts and heavy death metal riffs you can listen to before the songs become carbon copies of each other. This creates a sudden divide which is a common listening experience of genre jumping and it quickly becomes apparent that the original source disappears.
Needles and Rags exhausts the Silent Hill influence a bit too much, at this point in the album the synth and breakdowns become disconnected and it was at this point, we realise that this album no longer has any passion behind it. Balmora have never denied being so outspoken about music influences, but there’s a fine line between blatant rip offs and not having any individuality which makes it feel like most of the songs were either written with no real thought, or a cheat code of ‘heavy breakdowns and synths’ were spammed at a certain point.
The final track on this album, NVG, is where the album becomes disjointed and throws you in an entirely different direction. While many rap artists take influence from being hardcore or heavy music adjacent, this seems like it has been dislodged and placed at the end as a joke. While it is obviously a nod towards Bladee and perhaps Danger Incorporated, it doesn’t sound anywhere near as polished. If this song was used as a breakup track, to take us away from the repetitive riffs then it would’ve been better utilised.. However, due to its placement and complete lack of sincerity, NVG solidifies that this album should’ve ended 4 songs earlier.
“These Graven Halls” shows a blatant disinterest and you can tell which songs were written 3 years ago and which songs were written recently. The continuous genre jumps and the inspiration changes are obvious and throw you from pillar to post. It feels like the album had taken an entirely different direction musically and a couple of notable songs confirm that. It’s as though they had tried to U-turn down a one way street. Balmora is an example of a band slowly losing their passion and drive to create music that is consistently fleshed out and driven.
FFO: 2000’s metalcore, As Blood Runs Black, Silent Hill Synths
Score: 5/10
“These Graven Halls” releases on Friday 29th May 2026 via DAZE.
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