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A Clarion Call is the second album from Indiana's Idol Throne and, after not liking their debut very much (2022's The Sybylline Age), I am finding this new one better in almost every way. Idol Throne still play mainly thrashy power metal but have added some additional melodic elements that give this album more depth and contrast. There are similarities with the pugilistic pummeling of Armored Saint on songs like "System Simulacrum" and some of the quirky while still ass-kicking metal madness of Slough Feg on "Covenant of the Immortal." Then you have the title track, which brings in a slower pace and less fierce (though still heavy) riffing which, combined with melodic vocal lines, evokes bands like Dark Forest and Dark Moor, as does the closing instrumental, "Falconer's Cry." At over seven minutes, I kept anticipating I would get bored with this song, but I haven't yet. Idol Throne took a chance with more ambitious songwriting, and it paid off handsomely with a much-improved overall effort on A Clarion Call.