Sardonyx: Anthems Of Warfare | An Invitation to Go to War
(2025 – Roxx Records)
It is truly a pleasure to know that the old warriors of Metal are not giving up and are still fighting the good fight. Sardonyx, an old and battle-hardened band, belongs to this group, and despite the passage of time, rust does not seem to be their thing. It’s 2025, and Sardonyx is still standing, delivering a new album that not only respects their history as a band but also stays true to traditional Heavy Metal.
Living up to the title of this new album, Sardonyx brings us “Anthems Of Warfare,” a true catalog of warrior anthems in every sense of the word. The passage of time does not seem to have made a dent in Sardonyx’s sound and style, nor does it lend itself to sounding “modern.” Perhaps what is noticeable is better work in everything related to sound and production in general.
It should be noted that Sardonyx has existed as a band since the 1980s, going through several periods of inactivity, but always releasing something new every now and then. Their last work was “Sons Of The Kingdom” in 2018, so “Anthems Of Warfare” would be their first album in almost seven years.
Sardonyx’s sound is reminiscent of old-school Metal from the 1980s, with a certain influence from Hard Rock and some passages from the more melodic side of Heavy Metal, with a lot of guitar work in their sound. However, this is only a rough idea. It is not easy to label Sardonyx because, over the years, they have developed their own personality as a band, and yet, in our opinion, they have not been fairly recognized on the scene.
This new album brings us seven tracks that basically have a lot to do with the album’s title, because we are talking about each song included having a warrior spirit that can be seen and heard at every moment. The warlike atmosphere is felt from the beginning in “Song Of Levites,” a mid-tempo anthem that invites you to raise your fist in the air, with a firm, hard, and sustained base.
“Mighty Warrior” is another traditional Heavy Metal bomb, sustained by its hard riffs and steady march, crowned with a fitting chorus. A true gem of this album. What follows is a ballad, which nonetheless sounds epic and warlike. “Be Like The Sun” is a beautiful song with vocals shared between Tom Delinger and, we believe, Evi Rose (as it is not indicated on the inner sleeve, but we assume that she is the one sharing the vocals on this track). The result is truly impressive and noteworthy.
The war hymns continue one after another, and that’s why we can’t fail to highlight “Man Of War,” a heavy-caliber piece guided by a heavy riff and a solid base, highlighting the melodies that Tom Denlinger’s voice outlines behind a true war song made in a medium tempo. On the other hand, “The Angel Of The Lord” follows a line much closer to traditional and classic Heavy Metal, but remains within the same concept proposed by Sardonyx on this album. A passage that transcribes a biblical fragment in the form of a prayer gives the song its warlike and epic air.
“Face To The Ground” seems to be the odd one out on “Anthems Of Warfare,” and it has its arguments, at least in its overall structure. An unusual beginning and a vibe close to Epic Metal in its development give it a kind of musical versatility and complexity in its conception that could well mean it is the high point of the album.
The final track blows our minds, one of the best on the album and a more than worthy way to close a good album. “Shine Like The Stars” once again goes for hard riffs with bases centered on more traditional Metal with a slight inclination towards the melodic, given the vocal harmonies of Tom Denlinger, who manages to maintain the balance between speed, hardness, and melody.
Perhaps “Anthems Of Warfare” falls a little short. Only seven songs seems like not enough. Even so, it’s good to see Sardonyx coming out of their recording hiatus and releasing something new. It was long overdue, but even so, we must remember that Sardonyx is more than just another band. Tom Denlinger, in addition to being the band’s leader and vocalist, runs a Christian ministry called “Light Shine Ministries,” which is perhaps why the band doesn’t get too involved in the music market. Each Sardonyx album, beyond the musical aspect, focuses on a specific biblical message. Some will like it and support it, while others will disagree with the group’s position. Everyone will know their position.
This may be why the inner sleeve of this album only mentions that Delinger is the vocalist, Rod Feltman is on guitar, and Chuck Turner is on bass. Nothing is said about the percussion. We want to believe that this is just an oversight and not that the drums were produced using AI. Let’s hope that’s not the case.
The cover of “Anthems Of Warfare” must be one of the best in Sardonyx’s recording career. It really is very good. The problem, as we mentioned, lies inside, as there is a lack of information and details, and the lyrics for each song have not been included, only a biblical comment referring to the conception of each track and a suggestion to visit the band’s website and the ministry to find them. There are also no photographs of the band and its members.
What is noteworthy is the sound. Beyond being self-produced by the band itself, the mastering was done by Rob Colwell, who elevates the overall sound to one of the highest points in Sardonyx’s history. In itself, there is a noticeable tendency to strengthen the guitars which, together with the exaltation of the vocals, give this material a very warrior-like feel.
The lyrics, as expected, have strong Christian and biblical content. The stories told in each of these warrior hymns have their origin in different stories from the Old Testament.
It is healthy that a historic band like Sardonyx is still relevant, composing new songs and releasing a new album. It could even be said that “Anthems Of Warfare” is not far from the style we already know, but in this case with much better sound production and a unification in the concept and idea of the album. Beyond some shortcomings, especially in terms of graphics and content in the physical format, it can be said that Sardonyx exists, resists, and continues.
To get the album, you can try https://www.roxxproductions.com or the band’s website, which we detail below. We also leave you with a lyric video produced by the band themselves for the song “Mighty Warrior” from this album…
