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Tracklist:
01. Eat What You Kill
02. The Ritual And The Reckoning
03. Destroyer
04. The Worthy And The Weak
05. Black Goat Of The Woods
06. The Filth And The Fable
07. Tied To A Stag
08. Four In Hand

Mike Selman has been a musician long enough to know that originality is the key to a lasting and successful career in metal.

Selman, who honed his guitar-playing chops in one of Victoria's most venerable metal acts, Meatlocker Seven, also knows he is sitting on a rare find with his new band, Unleash the Archers.

The wild card, ace in the hole, secret weapon -- however you choose to describe it -- is frontwoman Brittney Hayes. Not only is the out-front presence of a female rare in the male-dominated genre, her background as a classically trained singer adds even more of an unusual touch to the band's sound.

"It's rare that you hear it done this way," Selman said of his band's slightly operatic metal. "If you look at female-fronted bands in metal that use clean vocals, it's often more folk-metal, which is a different style than ours."

Unleash the Archers, which also features singer-guitarist Brayden Dyczkowski, bassist Zahk Hedstrom and Hayes' boyfriend, drummer Scott Buchanan, has a different style than most. In fact, the combination of Dyczkowski's guttural secondary vocals and Hayes' soaring leads, like Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, pretty much doesn't exist. Haynes' honed her voice to bell-like perfection during her time with the University of Victoria Chamber Singers.

The pagan vibes of female-fronted metal bands such as Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, and Nightwish? Too slight. The rabid frontwomen of F--k the Facts, Arch Enemy, and Otep? Far too aggressive. Hayes and Unleash the Archers strike the perfect balance, Selman said.

"I think (similar bands) are out there, but you're going to have to dig before you fluke out and come across something comparable to our sound."

The sound of Unleash the Archers is like a roaring 747 on its forthcoming debut album, Behold the Devastation, which the band will celebrate with a release party Saturday. It's the sound of experience:

 Since forming in 2007, the band has made touring a priority, as evidenced by regular tour dates around B.C. and a western Canadian tour in April that saw the Archers and another excellent Victoria act, Archon Legion, play 17 shows in a matter of weeks.

With their debut at the ready, the Archers are heading back on the road with a bigger and bolder trek that will wrap Sept. 12 in Victoria with 3 Inches of Blood, a popular Vancouver-by-way-of-Victoria act whose members Selman knows well from the days of his former band. "We're looking at about 30 shows over 35 days," he said.

Every member of Unleash the Archers, regardless of their experience, played a big part in the recording of Behold the Devastation. The result is a professional product not unlike any major-label metal offering, despite the fact Unleash the Archers are indie and have more talent than money.