Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

On the back of the single Rise, the West Country-based foursome that make up the powerful entity of Beckon The Wyrd, the brand-new album Out Of The Armoury sits atop of a castle’s keep with the knowledge that its foundations dig deep into the earth below, that its walls are robust and immune to the pounding of the beige in search of complications, and the forge that creates the weapons of words and music roars with satisfaction and keeps the wielders of the genre on vigilant guard and ready to take on the world.

It is far from hyperbole to feel in your gut that the sound provided by the genuine attachment that the vocals, sung with ferocious charm by Angela Rushton and one that calls out like a renegade siren, not wanting to take the lives of those who hear, but have them fall in love, fall for the messages that the album entails.

From Out Of The Armoury doesnot just come the readiness to fight for a belief, but the understanding of honour, and honour is the point, a show of force but delivered with a velvet glove and a sense of timing that involves a tremendous cohesion from the knights of this musical experience, Alex Rushton, George Forse, and Julian Bayliss; and as tracks such as the excellent Always The Heathen, Where The Sun Meets The Sea, The Morrigan Rides, the single Rise, and the searing ideal of book ending a name with an ideal in Beckon The Wyrd meet expectation with unbelievable realisation, so the word is met, a certain magic is unleashed and the belief is observed.

It is to the myths and legends of the West Country that such a sound is possible, it is to this sceptred land of north Devon that Beckon The Wyrd have set up camp, proudly laid down the musical law, and now reaping the rewards for their dedication. Out Of The Armoury is an abundance of Time captured in a album of immense value and one to savour.

Ian D. Hall