Paladin’s Ascension Out Now on Prosthetic

European metal-loving, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening-playing four-piece Paladin dispense soaring riffs and scorching vocals aplenty on new album Ascension, out since May 17 on Prosthetic Records.

The twin guitars of singer Taylor Washington and Sadistic Ritual’s Alex Parra complement the solid rhythm section of drummer Nathan McKinney and bassist and vocalist Andy McGraw across 11 new tracks, as heard on the white-hot music video for “Shoot For the Sun” and Zelda-themed single “Awakening.”

McGraw’s guttural roars on “Divine Providence,” “Bury the Light” and other tracks offer a bone-chilling counterbalance to Washington’s cleaner yet maniacal howls.

In all, the album helps cap what’s been a hell of a decade for Atlanta metal, from Mastodon’s Grammy win to impressive releases by the soldiers keeping things loud and lewd on the home front.

The band plays a couple of shows in Georgia this month: a June 15 fundraiser at 529 for the medical bills of Aaron Baumoel (Halcyon Way, Malefic, Crown of Sorrow, Obsolescence) and a June 21 show at the Mule Camp Tavern in Gainesville.