Viribus Unitis - 1914 New Album
The battalion behind the music
Before diving into the album, let's talk about the band. 1914 is a Ukrainian quintet, the kind of band that, to me, feels as if it came straight from a historical battlefield. Formed to tell the stories of World War I with the weight of death/doom and the coldness of black metal, they already have a unique profile: dense guitars, martial drumming, vocals that mix roars and almost ritualistic resonance, all intertwined with period samples, speeches, and war sounds. It is brutal, real, as if each song were a letter written from the front by soldiers of the past.
Now, with Viribus Unitis, they deliver their fifth studio album. The release date (November 14, 2025) and the conceptual proposal reinforce that the band takes the narrative as seriously as the sonic brutality.
My experience on the Viribus Unitis frontline
When I hit play at the beginning, with 'War In (The Beginning of the Fall)', it’s as if I had been thrown into a gray trench: background noises, marching footsteps, an atmosphere of tension that’s almost palpable. From there, the sequence of tracks unfolds chronologically, from 1914 to 1919, telling the story of a Ukrainian soldier fighting in the Austro-Hungarian army.
The impact is twofold: on one hand, the typical death/black brutality is there: crushing riffs, relentless blast-beats, ferocious growls. On the other, there are moments of melody, orchestral pulsation, guest clean vocals that bring breath, emotion, and humanity to that sonic hell.
When I reach the central tracks, like '1916 (The Südtirol Offensive)' and '1917 (The Isonzo Front)', I feel the anguish of the offensive, the weight of strategy, the human tragedy translated into waves of guitar, melodic solos that sound like contained screams, and drumming that marches, pulses, drags. The narrative hooks me: it’s not just war for war’s sake, it’s about the core of power, brotherhood, fear, and loss.
Then the darker moments come, especially in the '1918' trilogy. In 'Pt. 1 (WIA – Wounded in Action)', everything slows down, the grind gives way to lament, the density becomes suffocating, and the harsh vocals capture the desperation of the wounded soldier. In 'Pt. 2 (POW)', Christopher Scott’s voice adds a texture of resignation and bitterness to the prisoners’ narrative. And then, in 'Pt. 3 (ADE – A Duty to Escape)', Aaron Stainthorpe (formerly of My Dying Bride) brings melancholic cleans to portray the desperate escape, perhaps the most human moment of the album, a mixture of hope and guilt, survival and sacrifice.
When I reach '1919 (The Home Where I Died)', I immediately notice something changed. The brutality gives way to a sorrowful melody, dominated by piano, and Jérôme Reuter’s voice paints a painful portrait of return and loss, the promise of coming home to the family, but the weight of war still haunting him. And then, 'War Out (The End?)' closes with evocative period samples, leaving a bittersweet sensation: the war may have ended, but its scars echo on.
Musical and emotional analysis
What impresses me most about Viribus Unitis is the evolution: 1914 not only repeats their formula, they expand it. There is richer orchestration, more refined arrangements, and greater narrative ambition. The brutality is there, but now it coexists with layers of melody that heighten the emotional impact.
The guest vocals are a brilliant move: Christopher Scott, Aaron Stainthorpe, and Jérôme Reuter add different shades of pain, hope, and resignation. Each appearance seems designed to reinforce the story and deepen the human perspective of war.
The martial drums with rolls reminiscent of war drums, the dense riffs, the blackened tremolos, all remain intact. But what’s new is the cohesion: each track contributes to the narrative as if it were a chapter in a war book, and the enhanced production helps immerse the listener even further in that atmosphere of degradation, camaraderie, and tragedy.
Meaning and impact
To me, Viribus Unitis is more than a historical metal album: it is a declaration of resilience. The band manages to balance the brutal condemnation of war with a celebration of the brotherhood that rises from the fire of conflict.
I leave this experience not only with a handful of riffs stuck in my head, but with a sense of historical reverberation: understanding that behind the battles there were ordinary men, bonds, fears, and a will to keep going, even when everything seemed lost.
Conclusion: my verdict
If 1914 is known for making metal that sounds like an offensive, on Viribus Unitis they deliver something like a masterful work of war and humanity. It is raw, heavy, emotional and it gripped me from beginning to end.
For me, as someone who has already explored different branches of extreme metal, this album is a milestone: not only for the band’s usual brutality, but for its narrative ambition, melodic richness, and ability to transform history into an auditory experience.
If you appreciate metal that goes beyond aggression and tells a story with blood and soul, this record is essential. It is a sonic march worth every second.
