Album Review: Raphael Weinroth-Browne - Lifeblood (2025)
- Stuart Ball
- Sep 27
- 6 min read
Written: 27th September 2025
Canadian cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne, best known for his work with progressive metal band Leprous, has graced stages from the Royal Albert Hall to Hellfest, and collaborated with renowned acts including Woods of Ypres, Apocalyptica, Devin Townsend, Suldusk and Evanescence. Beyond these high-profile performances, he has forged a reputation as a modern trailblazer of the cello - seamlessly blending his progressive metal roots with a deep passion for Middle Eastern music and redefining the instrument far beyond its classical origins. “This album is a reflection on myself as an artist and the journey that has led me to where I am now,” says Raphael. “The title Lifeblood refers to music itself; music has been there for me in all the seasons of my life and has given me everything I have, and in turn, I have devoted myself fully to it.”
Lifeblood’s nine-minute title track is the first of eight pieces that make up the album. A steadily paced opening track, it develops organically with the initial haunting sounds of Weinroth-Browne’s layered cello immediately focusing our attention. He glides up and down the fingerboard with an elegant grace that brings to mind the first stirrings of life in a quiet forest on a dew covered spring morning. Two and a half minutes in, the first pulsing beats are unveiled and the personality of the track begins to change. However, the changes throughout the piece are so natural and unhurried that nothing appears forced or out of place. Weinroth-Browne’s Middle Eastern influences begin to show their hand and blend exquisitely with the tableau he develops as the song reaches the half-way point. A creeping tension gathers in the second half, sustaining the piece’s momentum with understated force. In its closing minute, the music suddenly bares its teeth - pounding to a heavy finale that betrays his metal heart. Nine minutes vanish in a blink and suddenly we are plunged into the album’s core.
Possession’s Middle Eastern inspirations are far more apparent from the outset, quickly revealing the track’s darker heart. This four minute piece aches with yearning and sorrow, driven by a throbbing cadence and swirling effects that add to the mournful lament. Each phrase feels like a summons, the cello’s voice beckoning us deeper into its shadowy embrace. Raphael comments, "With Possession, I wanted to combine Arabic-inspired melodies and heavy grooves with the haunting, gothic atmosphere of Opeth and the cold, almost alien atonality of Meshuggah. I feel that it encapsulates my diverse influences and remains one of my most succinct and direct musical statements." It is no surprise he takes pride in the result; Possession fuses the exactitude of classical form with the enveloping sweep of electronic soundscapes.
Our journey towards the mysterious epicentre of Lifeblood continues as nine-minute epic Ophidian journeys through a range of atmospheres with two sides of a Weinroth-Browne’s personality battling for domination. He states, “In a sense it’s the dilemma of choosing between the angel and the devil on one’s shoulder and ultimately embracing the ‘devil’ and one’s inner chaos as an authentic manifestation of self, instead of trying to suppress it. On a musical level, I interpret this as abandoning one’s classical background and taking an alternative artistic direction." This duality works beautifully throughout the piece, with the transitions between its contrasting personalities at times subtle, at times strikingly clear. The result is a composition that holds the listener’s attention from start to finish, allowing Weinroth-Browne to explore the full expressive range of the cello - from deep, throbbing notes that add drama, to higher, ethereal passages that shimmer and punctuate the piece with light.
Where the first three tracks build intense layers, Pyre moves differently - shorter, more minimal, and refreshingly distinct, - a welcome change in the album’s flow. A medieval, pared-back atmosphere permeates the track, its calmness both relaxing and exquisitely articulated. The deliberate space between notes and phrases pulls the listener in completely, allowing them to sink fully into the music’s subtle, enchanting world. Raphael comments, “It was inspired by Galician music but ended up taking on more of a Nordic vibe reminiscent of groups such as Wardruna and Kalandra.”
Throughout Lifeblood, his passion for music and what it can bring to the world is clearly evident. The wider portrayal of his work is incredibly important to him and his recent singles have been paired with stunning videos including the striking animation for Pyre. "I approached Jess Cope of Owl House Studios. I have been a longtime fan of her work for artists such as Steven Wilson, Opeth and Metallica. Jess has an incredible ability to convey searing emotion through narrative and animation. When I read her initial storyboard for Pyre and saw the rough draft of the video, I burst into tears. The final result is an absolutely gorgeous video that deepens the thematic and emotional world of the track."
Following Pyre, we return to longer tracks with Labyrinthine and Nethereal at ten minutes and nine minutes respectively. Unfazed by extended development, Weinroth-Browne is not afraid to let his music breathe and evolve, reflecting his classical training as each track unfolds like distinct movements of a symphony. True to its name, Labyrinthine meanders through a maze of sound, leading the listener along shadowed corridors and sudden turns, offering fleeting glimpses of resolution to those who dare to wander its winding paths. Nethereal finds layers of cello and recurring motifs and rhythms laying a foundation for the introduction. The track drifts into a languid, almost hypnotic tranquillity, a stillness that evokes the calm before a storm - a storm that arrives with breathtaking force. The build to one of the album’s most frenzied, propulsive passages is masterful, with Weinroth-Browne at times playing two strings at once, unleashing the cello’s full, visceral heft. In its second half, Nethereal blossoms into one of the album’s most intoxicatingly rewarding moments, a maelstrom of tension and release that lingers long after the final note fades.
Like Pyre, the penultimate track Winterlight offers a reprieve from the album’s more driving passages. Evoking the hush of a pristine, snow-covered terrain, the music unfolds with glacial slowness, carrying a serene, almost tactile sense of calm. In the final minute, faster notes throb and beckon, as if our eyes are drawn to an animal darting across the distant expanse, a single point of motion in an otherwise still and majestic scene. Utterly intoxicating.
The album closes with The Glimmering, a track that brings together the many threads woven throughout the record. Its opening is redolent of the sparseness of Pyre before gradually evoking the desolation of Winterlight. Midway, a sense of travel and movement takes hold, and the middle section surges with extreme motion, passionately performed with notes that are both angelic and haunting. The clarity of the cello is awe-inspiring, showcasing both the instrument’s versatility and Weinroth-Browne’s extraordinary skill. In the final two minutes, electronic influences emerge, revealing his willingness to experiment and push the boundaries of his sound. A thrilling, propulsive conclusion to the album.
Raphael Weinroth-Browne is an extraordinary artist and his love of music is intoxicating in itself. Commenting on the album, he states, "I consider this album to be my most autobiographical work to date. As a metalhead turned full-time professional cellist making original music outside the classical realm, I have taken the road less travelled, nurturing my artistic vision and trusting my intuition even on an unorthodox path.”
Lifeblood is an album that enthrals and challenges, balancing moments of raw intensity with exquisite reprieve. Pyre and Winterlight are essential breaths within the work, their calm and clarity preventing the album from becoming overwhelmingly dark or relentless. This careful attention to pacing and sequencing ensures that each shift in tone feels deliberate, heightening the impact of the more powerful passages. The result is a record that rewards both classical enthusiasts, who will appreciate its nuance and mastery, and fans of Weinroth-Browne’s metal and rock collaborations, who will thrill at its daring energy and inventive textures. It unfolds as a tapestry of shifting moods and emotions leaving the listener captivated, inspired and in awe of an artist who continues to expand the boundaries of his instrument and his vision. Exhilarating moving and fully realised.
Lifeblood is released on 3rd October 2025.
Raphael Weinroth-Browne online:
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