Album Review: BRYMIR – What We Leave Behind (Napalm Records)

Finnish melodic death metal band BRYMIR will release their new album, What We Leave Behind, on 2nd October 2026 via Napalm Records.

Formed in Helsinki in 2006, BRYMIR originally came together at a music summer camp before developing their own material and adopting the BRYMIR name. Their debut album, Breathe Fire to the Sun, arrived in 2011, with the band gradually moving from their early folk metal influences towards the melodic death metal sound they are now known for. The three albums that followed, Slayer of Gods (2016), Wings of Fire (2019) and Voices in the Sky (2022) saw BRYMIR include increasingly grand orchestral and cinematic elements to their sound. This all leads us to 2026 and What We Leave Behind, an album described as their darkest and most sinister yet.

What We Leave Behind is the fifth album from BRYMIR, combining melodic death metal with those expansive orchestral and cinematic elements. Heavily influenced by vocalist Viktor Storm Gullichsen’s work as a movie sound designer, the album uses mythology and fantasy to explore themes of humanity, belief, conflict and the state of the world around us.

BRYMIR are Viktor Storm Gullichsen on vocals, Joona Björkroth on guitars, Jarkko Niemi on bass and Patrik Fält on drums.

What We Leave Behind gets off to a really strong start, with Slaying Star building a huge atmosphere before leading directly into the speed and fury of Sleipnir. It’s fast, energetic and packed with everything I want from melodic death metal, but it’s the cinematic atmosphere and those folk-influenced backing vocals that give it something extra. Tempestbound keeps that energy going and I particularly like the contrast between the harsh and softer vocals. The drummer deserves a lot of credit too, because he’s absolutely going for it even when the music becomes more melodic.

Then we get the title track and, honestly, this is phenomenal. What We Leave Behind throws all sorts into the mix, from electronica and power metal passages through to fast and fiery death metal, before dropping into a magical chorus that really brings that epic journey feeling to the forefront. The riffs are fire, the drums are excellent and the vocals are superb, but it’s the guitar work that really gets me. I adore the solos and love the way the melody follows the vocal delivery in the chorus. This is one of those songs where I already know I’ll be coming back to it.

True Darkness has the unenviable job of following that, but thankfully it doesn’t feel like a step down. It’s darker, angrier and more aggressive, with added menace in the vocals and some nasty blast beats that really go for the jugular. It does a great job of capturing that sense of anger and frustration while still keeping the cinematic side of BRYMIR’s sound at the forefront. Moment of Silence then gives us a chance to breathe, with its soft and soothing opening echoing Slaying Star and tying the two instrumental moments together nicely.

Buried Legion keeps the atmosphere at the forefront with some strong choirs backing dark and mean vocals. The riffs are crunchy and the rhythm section hits hard, but the atmospheric backing holds things back from feeling too heavy. The melodies that grow into the chorus are great, while the much more prominent use of the choirs shows some serious creativity from BRYMIR. It also comes packing an absolutely gorgeous solo, and the heavy contrast between this song and Moment of Silence works really well in the flow of What We Leave Behind.

We move from the beast of a previous track into Thy Self The Highest Love, a calming and softly sung interlude with gentle melodies that acts as the prelude to The Roaring King. The same melody starts this track off as we get deep into impressive creativity. The pace drops for a song that reaches epic proportions at times. Lots of choirs and symphonic touches grow to epic levels in the bridges and chorus. Thumping drums and slower growled vocals add weight and intensity, while lead guitars add emphasis and light through the driving melodies. It’s a phenomenal track. I adore this song.

Sadly, for now, we must move on, with Broken Dawn up next. At nearly eight minutes in length, I’m excited to see what creative muscles BRYMIR stretch this time. I’m delighted to see that it carries on naturally from The Roaring King, keeping the heavy atmosphere and power metal epicness in a slower, chunky melodeath track that pushes all the genre boundaries magnificently. Grooving verses with driving melody lead us into massive choruses with big symphonic backing. The choir vocals and chants are prominent in the chorus, and there are a few different solos that all add so much emotion. The song flows wonderfully and is so engaging throughout. It’s another amazing composition.

What We Leave Behind closes with a cover of Scooter’s How Much Is The Fish, fully reworked into a melodeath track and highlighting BRYMIR’s stance against ocean pollution. It’s a decent track with lots of energy and a bouncy rhythm. They do a great job of making it their own while still being respectful to the original, but it feels a touch like a bonus track. Maybe it is, as we don’t always see that information on press releases. So while I enjoy it, and it fits, I like to think of Broken Dawn as the closing track of the album proper.

In short, I love it. What We Leave Behind is a really great album, but then those final tracks happen and somehow elevate everything that came before them. The flow is excellent, there’s loads of variety and this is definitely much more than just a melodic death metal album. It’s talented, creative, heavy, atmospheric and emotional, and honestly, it has it all. I really enjoyed this one and it will be getting a lot more playtime from me this year.

Track List:

01 – Slaying Star
02 – Sleipnir
03 – Tempestbound
04 – What We Leave Behind
05 – True Darkness
06 – Moment of Silence
07 – Buried Legion
08 – Thy Self The Highest Love
09 – The Roaring King
10 – Broken Dawn
11 – How Much Is The Fish

BRYMIR Links