Forged in the flickering flames of the Western European metal scene, WARKINGS have put a lot of effort into manifesting their own imagined legacy. Fully costumed and operating under enigmatic codenames — The Viking, The Spartan, The Crusader and The Tribune — they demand to stand apart from the power metal crowd by simply being more over-the-top than everybody else. The only drawback to WARKINGS‘ masterplan was that, at first, their music seldom matched up to the fantastic bombast of the band’s imagery and stated mission to deliver “pure power metal.” 2018’s Debut album “Reborn” was solid but unspectacular, while both “Revenge” (2020) and “Revolution” (2021) had great moments, but not enough to allay fears that WARKINGS were mainly style and little substance.

Something seemed to shift in 2022, however. The sword-wielding fantasists fourth album in five years, “Morgana” introduced Secil “Morgana Le Fey” Sen to the lineup, wherein she took a prominent vocal role and immediately brought sharper color and stronger character to the WARKINGS sound, not to mention an unmissable uptick in the quality of the now five-piece band’s songwriting. It took a while, but everything finally clicked.

On their fifth album, which arrives an uncharacteristic three years on from its predecessor, WARKINGS are still surfing on momentum. “Armageddon” absolute seethes with confidence and energy, from the anticipatory ambience of intro “To Lindisfarne”, through to the uproarious collaboration with SUBWAY TO SALLY (“Stahl auf Stahl”) that brings the whole rowdy shebang to a close. There may be little stylistic difference between these songs and those on earlier albums, but as the title track noisily confirms, WARKINGS are a heavier and more intense proposition these days with two powerhouse vocalists on superlative form, and a dirty, pugnacious guitar tone to savor.

On the anthemic likes of “Genghis Khan” (featuring ORDEN OGAN),“Kings of Ragnarök” and “Troops of Immortality”, they skillfully skirt around any notion of generic power metal, leaning into something earthier and more epic, and triumphantly so. The specter of classic doom looms large over slower, heavier and moodier fare like “Kingdom Come”, “Nightfall” and “Hangman’s Night” (featuring DOMINUS),as a surfeit of deft, theatrical augmentation, and an avalanche of multi-layered vocals adds vastness to WARKINGS‘ full-bore delivery. Meanwhile, the furious, speed metal assault of “Circle of Witches” works both as a raising of the ante in terms of heaviness and a glorious showcase for Sen‘s flame-thrower voice, while the band’s other vocalist, The Tribune, wrings every last drop of downcast drama from the sumptuous ballad “Here Comes the Rain”.

In truth, “Armageddon” is almost certainly a song or two too long and might have been even more impactful in a leaner state. But what really matters is that this is WARKINGS‘ strongest album to date. A very fine way to confirm that their music is now as explosive and resonant as originally intended: a battle clearly won.