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TEMPLAR
Conquering Swords

Jawbreaker (2026)
Rating: 8/10

If you’re going to wear a leather waistcoat over your bare n’ sweaty chest then you must be a member of Swedish clan Templar. With the look and sound of 1984, this quartet has been channelling the spirit of Heavy Load and the likes since 2023.

After a demo, Black Knight (2023), and an EP, Treacherous Beast (2024), the gang finally rattles off a full-length album, Conquering Swords. It’s one which arrives in the racks encased in some cheesy and nostalgic artwork which conjures the spirit of Axewitch, Syron Vanes, Attacker and the previously mentioned Heavy Load. When you see album covers like this you pray that the music within matches and Templar does not disappoint, although this heap of junk might not appeal to everyone.

As with a lot of this throwback metal it’s all a bit off-kilter, especially in the vocal warbles of bassist Isak Neffling. There’s a strong 70s meddling alongside a pungent reek of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene; think of Satan and Blitzkrieg mixed with fellow Swedes Gotham City. If there’s one track which sums up Templar then it’s ‘Rainbow’s End’, somewhat of a crash bang wallop affair that’s both punky and junky as drummer Mille Lundström clatters the kit.

Opener ‘Witchking’ is downright demonic, creaking from every rafter as axe men Teddy Edoff and Gustav Harrysson construct tight musty grooves of antique aplomb. Without doubt this is one of those stinky old replicas that sounds so authentic in its starkness and darkness. ‘Excalibur’ is richly Gothic, the vocals shiver in almost ghoulish fashion above the Gotham City-styled haste. It’s all very nifty, but one can see the particles of dust being stirred with every oaken bass line.

‘The Sorceress’ begins as a ballad, the vocals haunting the night as they spiral like wisps of smoke from the smouldering axe work. I envisage castle ruins and the shadows of warrior riders in the fog. At times it’s quintessentially British, but then returns to those Swedish fjords with that shuddering mid-tempo gallop of ‘Shipwreck’ and the stirring theatre of ‘White Wolf’.

The bass weaves its way through each cut with such a meandering chunkiness, rounding off its journey on the closing title cut. Again there’s that mid-paced thumping as the combo plods like an aged stallion into the fens. Conquering Swords is a good little record that’s happy to nod to the past, so, support the band and spend 40 minutes of your time admiring their craft.

Neil Arnold

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