Warlord – Free Spirit Soar (2024)

Here we are, three years after the passing of Bill Tsamis (RIP), discussing a new Warlord album. The news of this loss came as a shock to the band’s fanbase and the future of Warlord was very unclear, especially since Bill was considered as their mastermind. 

According to the press release, the music we have in Free Spirit Soar was written by Tsamis.  It was taken by its demo form and worked upon by the group, by keeping it faithful to their creator’s vision, however keep in mind that there is no way to know to what extend the music we hear was in that demo and what was created for this release. New in most cases, are the lyrics and vocal melodies that were worked from scratch. Exceptions are Behold a Pale Horse & Revelation XIX that are reworked Lordian Guard compositions. As a note, the promo I received contained 8 songs while the CD version will have 2 additional ones, so our review only covers those.   

Before discussing the album I want to comment on the ethical part of this release, as it is something being talked about by many. In short, I am not against the decision of the band to proceed with it. If we are fine with Stratovarius continuing without any original members, Savatage and Riot not stopping after the death of Criss Oliva and Mark Reale, and with countless similar cases, then I don’t see why Warlord should be treated differently. Adding to that, since there was already some material written by Bill, making it see the light of day is a great tribute and better than letting it rot forgotten in some drawer. I have some thoughts however on the way the tribute concerts are shaping, but this is not the place for this discussion.

Now to the burning question: Short answer, the album is good! For the long anser we will start with the easy part which is the drums, because Mark Zonder’s playing, who happens to be the band’s other founder, is as characteristic as ever. It is the drumming you know and love, there is no denying that it will gather all the good impressions and rightfully so. 

For the rest, Eric Juris (Guitars) and Giles Lavery (vocals), had a very difficult job to do, but overall I believe they delivered as best as they could. The composer they had to substitute had such personality in his work, that will never be replicated. As a result, not every last detail could be nailed, but still they managed to patch the majority of the hole.   

Let’s talk with songs. The Lordian Guard ones are great, the material was all there, so their translation to Warlord was done masterfully. The work on Worms of the Earth & Alarm is also on the same level, amazing tracks through and through. The remaining The Rider, Conquerors, Free Spirit Soar and The Bell Tolls have all the ingredients that scream Warlord, but also radiate a strong Power Metal aura. For example the backing vocals of the chorus in Conquerors fit more bands like Helloween and give a much more pleasant tone to the song. Is it a bad thing? No, but then I revisited the Holy Empire album and realized something.

That Free Spirit Soar could not create strong feelings the same way previous Warlord music did. Remember 70.000 Sorrows or Father? Guitars there produced such strong emotions that they could make the skies weep. The heavy, war atmosphere of Kill Zone that made the earth tremble? That is perhaps my biggest arguement, this album has traded its melancholic tone and strong atmospheres, for an anthemic approach. Not that I don’t like the songs, on the contrary many melodies pop up at my head at random moments all the time, they are great.  I do not believe it is the band’s fault, the material could have that direction even with Bill present, but if not, it is a natural occurence since as we said some things cannot be replaced. 

Allow me a final deviation before we close. According to an interview Tsamis gave to Rocking.gr in 2014, he mentioned having found the perfect voice for the band in Nicholas Leptos. He even said he started recording songs with his voice in mind, including vocal lines. It was pretty clear that Warlord was established as a complete group with him in the line-up. Fast forward to ten years later, with not the slightest mention for his substitution, something that feels at least weird to me. If the purpose of this release is to honor Tsamis, I would have thought that’s the way to go since this is how he envisioned the future of Warlord. If circumstances made this impossible from whoever’s side, I would expect at least an honorable mention. 

Based on the variables at the time of its creation, Free Spirit Soar successfully fulfills its role as a tribute to the late composer/ guitarist. There are some crevices that allow Tsamis’ absence to show, but everyone did a great job of keeping his flame burning bright. The album can proudly reserve a seat with the rest of the band’s discography and I am glad it saw the light of day. 

80/100

Pavlos Pavlakis

On behalf of Metal Domain