Confess are a Swedish five-piece whose fourth album, Metalmorphosis, is due to be released on 15 May 2026. Their fourth album, Metalmorphosis, is an upbeat ten-song collection of accessible Euro metal with more than a nod towards the ’80s, and a very polished production.
Confess – Metalmorphosis
Release Date: 15 May 2026
Words: Mark Rotherham
The opening track, Colorvision, kicks things off with a gentle intro and soft choral vocals, before a drum and guitar assault on the eardrums, complete with quick-fire riffing. This song will have you tapping your feet quicker than a hellion crash-landing on your drive at full speed.
John Elliot’s vocals are absolutely on point, the lyrics drip with lone-hero sentiments, and there are lots of backing vocals as the rest of the band support the verses and chorus. There is no daylight between any of the band with this powerfully crafted song. I am not too sure what it is really about, but that’s okay, because I am too busy enjoying the music.
Up next is The Warriors, with a crunching riff intro, and much heavier than the melodic slant of the first track. This song has got lots of energy and deep-throated chorusing reminiscent of Accept, while John Elliot is like a heavier version of Vince Neil. The solo is quite unusual, with an almost music hall reverb kind of sound, but overall, it is loud, catchy and upbeat.
Wicked Temptations is chock-full of fast-paced guitar and keyboard riffing, kinda like Europe on steroids. John Elliot’s vocals have a grittier tone on this song, competing with the full-drumming wall of sound rhythm section. If you like your Metal full-on, with a slight synth frill and plenty of eighties, pre-grunge nostalgia, then this will be right up your bandana-festooned street. It’s fast, driving, carefree and not at all too serious.
The title track, Metalmorphosis, is another song with a slow, acoustic, clean-sounding intro, which then leads into an uber-’80s fast riffing track that sounds like Bonfire at their best, combined with high-pitched Scorpions. It is chest-beating Metal that does not look too deeply into the philosophical pond of life, and does not take itself too seriously.
This is one of those songs you can take many meanings from, but I am reading this as a celebration of Metal, an acknowledgement that the music can always lift you onto greater things. I think we can all get on board with that, and the positively supersonic guitar solo definitely helps.
There is definitely a formula to this album, but there are still curveballs, like Beat Of My Heart, a slow, introspective, very short song. It is also acoustic and gives a refreshing take on the overused ballad formula. It is definitely the deepest song on the album, and I really like it. The solo is slow and moody, and it is an interesting departure.
There are also a couple of unusual song titles, like Pursuit Of The Jenny Haniver. With a frantic drum and double riff intro, this is a historic, nautical, mystical epic, with lots of mentions of oceans. Jenny Haniver is some sort of mythical nautical sea-bestie, and the song itself has got a fabulous chugging riff just before the symphonic, Nightwish-type solo, that is also mixed in with a bit of Alestorm. You do not get that kind of combo very often.
A potential single is The Other Side, an upbeat love song that is very melodic. You can hear this being played on rock radio stations right around the world. It has a really nice techno-riff and full-throated vocal chorusing. This is unthreatening, well-produced, high-quality musical enjoyment that you do not need a degree in astrophysics to be able to enjoy. On that basis, does one dare call Confess a Nordic Nickelback?
The mood darkens with Running To My Death, which has a slow, doomy intro, in perfect keeping with the song’s title, before moving into a warp-speed riff and machine-gun drumming. This is a consequences-be-damned song of terminal desperation for those without any hope, which of course is then tricked up into one blistering Metal song that travels at the speed of sound. You can almost see the smoke rising from the guitarists’ fretboards at solo time, they are playing so damn fast.
The doomy themes continue with Plague Of Steel, and right from the start, with the simulated guns and explosion sounds, you know that this is the near-obligatory, die with your boots on type war song. It has a nice, chugging beat that will please everyone from early Saxon fans right through to Metallica.
If you want profound, then this entire album probably is not your cup of tea, but if you want relentless, accessible Heavy Metal entertainment, then just stick around. This one had me tapping my feet and grinning like an idiot for the full four minutes and forty seconds of its Metal-fuelled existence.
The album closes with Silvermalen, a song that has echoes of Black Sabbath meets Nightwish, with deep choral vocals and a wall of drums. I am not sure what the word silvermalen means, but this is a Game of Thrones, mystical, pagan battle-type song.
Let’s be clear, this is a band that plays quality Metal, and while they are not giving us deep messages, if you are a Confess fan, that is not what you are here for. The production really sets the scene musically, and the soaring guitar solo perfectly matches the stirring verses and chorus. This is fur-clad, horn-helmeted Viking-type Metal, and it hits that spot perfectly.
Overall, this is a solid, quality album by Confess, with a slick production and a definite ’80s feel to it. It is upbeat and high tempo, and if you like your Heavy Metal straightforward and uncomplicated, this might be just what you are looking for.
Confess release Metalmorphosis on 15 May 2026 via Frontiers Music s.r.l. Pre-orders are available from ffm.bio/confess_metalmorphosis.
