Old habits die hard. It was always going to be a huge task to tie up the Psychoberrie trilogy, the antihero character very much being a huge part of all that brought Ward XVI to the attention of the public. Still, the Northern Metal powerhouse have never lacked ambition or imagination, and the scope of what they have achieved so far has exceeded the theatrical and encompasses more of a cinematic feel replete with a compelling central figure.
Ward XVI – Id3ntity
Release Date: 11 July 2025
Words: Paul Monkhouse
Following on from the increasingly bold and unhinged debut The Art Of Manipulation and onto the stunning sophomore Metamorphosis, this last adventure is their grandest yet, and you feel that every last drop of blood (plenty of it), sweat and tears has gone into it.
With this Grand Guignol focus, the narrative unfurls like a snake getting ready to strike, each new track bringing its own horrors and highs, the palette brought into play the musically colourful yet.
Here, the gothic sits next to sea shanties, crushing heaviness cuddles prog touches and sensuality is shot through with the sinister. With the band pushing musical and narrative boundaries further than ever, this last particular ride with the inmates of Ward XVI is undoubtedly their finest achievement yet and a suitably satisfying end to the saga (no anti climaxes here).
There is a very clear lineage displayed across the three albums. Their growth as a band is evident as Id3ntity refines what they do, adding layers to make the whole a more lush and powerful proposition than anything before as Psychoberrie, Doktor Von Stottenstein, Wolfy Huntsman, Bam Bam Bedlam, Rico Rameres and Nurse Betty certainly pull out all the stops.
With its mix of scene setting narration, musical motifs and gripping plot, this almost feels more like an audiobook than just a straight ahead album, such is their detailed world building. But Id3ntity can just be enjoyed purely as a titanic slab of rock and Metal.
With the dramatic opening Regeneration driving over the senses, the prescient line “welcome to the last day of your life” adds to the dread of the whole but also does no little foreshadowing for various characters.
The gothic-laced full-pelt blast that is Into The Wilderness sparkles with classical touches and features the first of many seismic guitar solos. The following What’s In The Box is a twisted fairground ride that morphs into a manic thrash juxtaposed with Psychoberrie’s melodic vocals.
The jackhammer Macabaret, swirling miasma of single Blood Is The New Black and a one / two punch of At The Window and Spit On Your Grave are all monstrously good, but the pacing is perfect, and the end of the album comes with a bang, not a whimper.
The twisted and powerful sensuality of Darkest Desire brings a much more visceral element than we had seen before. But this unease is offset, thankfully, by the ’70s shock rock of Amoeba Of Madness before the anthemic rallying call of We Are Legion brings the story to its final coup de grace.
But the question remains to whom.
For the answer to that, you will have to buy the album.
Quite where Ward XVI go from here is anyone’s guess but one thing is for sure: Id3ntity is all killer.
WARD XVI have their Id3ntity album launch with Red Method at Manchester Academy 2 on Friday, 25 July. For details and tickets, visit the Academy website.
Id3ntity is released on 11 July 2025 via Earache digital distribution. Pre-orders are available from earache.lnk.to/IDENTITY.
