Paranoia Church — Till the Wolves Come Home Review
Paranoia Church, a genre-defying project of Brazilian guitar player Bruno Rios, unveils its independent debut album, “Till the Wolves Come Home” on the 8th August 2025. Fusing traditional metal, alternative, and prog rock, the record delves into the darker corners of the human psyche through eight cinematic tales.
The First Three Sins, The Summary
The Fourth Sin, Overall Discussion
Invocation of the Vulture: The Sonic Rite Begins
The sonic voyage commences with the pressing of the play button. Immediately, the opening hymn, V is for Vulture, envelops the listener. A theatrical spoken-word introduction sets a venomous tone. The guitars are sharp, angular, and ceremonial in their repetition.
Psychic Descent: Eight Hymns of Human Unravelling
As the auditory journey continues through the remaining seven hymns, a lyrical exploration unfolds. This narrative delves deep into the human psyche. It uncovers darker corners. Eight cinematic tales paint pictures of manipulation and fear. Obsession, trauma, and guilt are explored. Betrayal, identity, and oblivion are also woven into the fabric of these stories.
Temporal Alchemy: Old-School Metal Reborn in 2023
Paranoia Church stands as a testament to pure, old-school heavy metal. It feels like a fruit of art trapped in time. Yet, this creation emerged in 2023. The music transcends simple heavy metal. It exquisitely fuses traditional metal with alternative and progressive rock. A hint of Gothic rock and shock rock adds another dimension.
The result is a high-energy musical head experience. It’s perfect for headbanging and fist-pumping.
Spectral Lineage: Influences and Instrumental Devilmanship
The influences are clear, channelling spirits like Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, King Diamond, Type O Negative, and even (UK alternative band) Tears for Fears. This is filtered through a lens of psychological dread. Spiritual undertones are buried within the music. Devilmanship and the instrumental composition intertwine. The instrumental itself is executed to perfection. It is tight and meticulously controlled.
Thoughtful arrangements break up the heavy metal core. These elements lend the music significant depth.
Cathedral of Mirrors: Forty Minutes of Ritual Immersion
Across its forty-minute duration, each hymn offers a distinct sound. Tempos, composition, and vocals vary. This keeps the listener engaged. It allows for both intense immersion and moments of release. These forty minutes are captured with a DIY ethos. Yet, they possess a grand, cinematic scope. The album sounds polished and spacious. It feels emotionally raw. Imagine a cathedral built from shattered mirrors.
Layered mixing places vocals front and centre. The guitars and synths swirl like ritual smoke. A deliberate tension exists between clarity and chaos. This, especially in hymns like, His Private Shock Machine and Hello_?
Gothic Respite: The Fifth Hymn’s Pulse and Transformation
The music offers moments of respite. The fifth hymn, Till the Wolves Come Home, provides this breathing space. It begins with clean female vocals. The composition is gentle at first. Around the one-minute mark, drums enter like a heartbeat. The tempo gradually rises. This transforms the piece into something entirely different. It becomes a Gothic alternative piece.
It brings to mind the style of Bad Pollyanna, especially their songs Monstrous Child and Invincible Girl.
Architect of Sound: Bruno Rios and the Vocal Confession
The entire tapestry of Till the Wolves Come Home is woven by a single architect—Bruno Rios—whose devilmanship conjures a sonic cathedral of precision and emotional weight. While guest musicians lend their voices and hands, the vision remains singular. Rios’ compositions are polished, tightly structured, and ritualistically immersive.
Paranoia Church’s Vocals emerge as a central rite. Vulnerable, strained, and deeply human, they channel inner fragmentation through harmonies and call-and-response passages.On the seventh hymn, Sister, ghostly screams erupt—reminiscent of King Diamond’s spectral anguish—casting shadows across the altar of sound. These voices do not merely perform; they confess.
Ceremonial Strings and Serpent Roots: Guitar and Bass as Narrative
Paranoia Church’s guitar work channels the spirits of NWOBHM legends. Bands like Mercyful Fate, Accept, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden resound through the cathedral walls, yet Rios tempers tradition with a modern emotional edge. Riffs are sharp, melodic, and often follow a ceremonial structure—each passage a blade drawn with purpose. Guitar tones are saturated but clear, distortion wielded with ritualistic clarity.
This is especially potent in V is for Vulture and Sister, where the guitars do not merely accompany—they narrate.
Paranoia Church’s bass riffs coils beneath the guitars like a serpent in the roots—never flashy, always essential. It functions as a shadow motif, anchoring the emotional weight without demanding attention. In Hello_?, the bass steadies the digital disorientation with a warm, rounded tone. Occasionally distorted, it adds heft without overwhelming the mix. This is not sloth in the lazy sense—it is restraint as ritual. The bass waits, watches, and strikes only when the ceremony demands it.
Percussive Cosmos: Drums as Ritual Pulse and Spatial Force
Paranoia Church’s drums are thunderous and controlled. They feel like ritual percussion—never flashy, always purposeful. They drive the emotional pacing, especially in Back to the Ocean and A Little Dream of You. Snare hits are crisp, toms are cavernous, and cymbals shimmer like distant stars.
There’s a sense of space in the drum mix that adds to the album’s cinematic feel.
Whispers in the Void: Synths and Ambient Echoes
The listener will also discover subtle yet potent elements woven throughout the music. Synthesizers and ambient textures surface, not to dominate, but to add depth. These sonic adornments are used with careful restraint. Yet, their impact is undeniable, especially with the track’s conclusion, the Outro, and the evocative piece titled Back to the Ocean. In these moments, they shimmer like the lingering traces of strong emotions. They are like echoes of feelings left behind after a powerful experience. These are not loud declarations. Instead, they are quiet whispers that resonate.
The Fruit of Art: A Shared Journey Through Reflection and Meaning
The entirety of Till the Wolves Come Home is a fruit of art journey. It is a collection born from dedicated creative exploration. The lyrical themes explored are deeply meaningful. They speak to universal human experiences. The music invites listeners to connect with these ideas. It’s an album that encourages reflection. This work is a true fruit of that artistic voyage. It’s more than just songs; it’s a shared exploration of significant ideas.
Closing: The Final Benediction: Let the Wolves Come Home
As the album reaches its final moments, we offer our heartfelt thanks to Paranoia Church for allowing us to review Till the Wolves Come Home. This has been more than a listening experience—it’s been a ritual of sound, emotion, and reflection. Now, we close the ceremony by unveiling the final three sins and sealing the review.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish
Paranoia Church
Bruno Rios — Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
For Till The Wolves Come Home, the Church summons a high clergy featuring singers Berzan Önen (Black Water Sunset; Crypted Roots), Tasos Lazaris (One Machine; Fortress Under Siege), Valeriano De Zordo (Agarthic; Stargenesis), Carolina Padrón (Tribus; Under Silence), Giorg¡a (Bookish Songs Collective), and Samtar. On drums are Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator; Bonfire; Enforcer; Hardline; Rhapsody), Fabián Troya (Wishfor; Ely y las Luciérnagas), and Rômulo Castro Filho (In The Shadows; Frozen Fire; Somberlain).
Other guest musicians include guitar players Rod Rodrigues, Victor Gueiros, Eduardo Gueiros (Walking Back To Hell), and Tiago Rezakk (Steel Fox); trumpeter Kelly O’Donohue, saxophonist Kevon Scott, and keyboard player Michael Berry.