Metalcatto
Alright, we’ve had some weird and strange albums lately, so how about we return to something even your little cousin can listen to as an introduction to our dark world. Frayle’s Heretics & Lullabies is an enigmatic album in a way. You see, at first glance, it might feel like this is some Nu-Metal spin-off, but the band tends to dive more into Goth and even Doom Metal constantly, which makes it hard to label — but I guess that’s why I’m here, to put names on things people hate to label themselves. I’ll bite the bullet for you!
If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to be in a toxic relationship where the other person slowly drains all the energy from your life, leaving you emotionally wrecked and hollow (maybe that’s too relatable), then Heretics & Lullabies is a fitting soundtrack. It captures that creeping anxiety that starts off subtle but eventually becomes suffocating and inescapable. Imagine a Post-Metal band, but stripped of experimentation — just melancholy, repetition, and the kind of gloom that eats away at you bit by bit. Depending on your taste, that either sounds comforting or horrifying.
The guitars and vocals never stray from that pessimistic core. Each track burns slowly, making you feel like your favorite pet just died in slow motion. It’s great music for wallowing in your misery and self-pity. Despite its polished production and somewhat accessible presentation, the album is much darker and less commercial than it first appears. If the vocals weren’t so gentle, we’d be talking about a minimalist Doom record that could make half of the MER staff feel right at home (not me, though, don’t get it twisted). Now, time for the ugly truth.
The basics are all in place on Heretics & Lullabies: the talent, the production, the budget — everything checks out. However, I couldn’t help drifting off multiple times while listening. The album is extremely one-note, and its emotional tone rarely shifts. After a while, you might forget the songs are progressing at all. I appreciate the intent and the atmosphere, but we’ve heard other bands explore this same territory with more variation. It’s enjoyable enough, but not something I see myself returning to often.
That said, I respect that Frayle continues to refine a sound we don’t encounter often in our reviews. If you’re not in the mood for something uniform and meditative, though, you might want to skip this one. There’s too much beauty, too much polish for those who prefer their Metal ugly and raw. Heretics & Lullabies feels almost too elegant for the degenerates among us — an album that’s serene in its sadness, and perhaps too good-looking for its own good.
Label: Napalm Records
Release date: 10 October 2025
Website: https://frayleband.com/
Country: USA
Score: 2.5/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 