Power Metal

Brothers of Metal – Emblas Saga Review

By Holdeneye on January 6, 2020 in 2020, AFM Records, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 128 comments

Truth be told, there’s a decent chance that I wouldn’t be here writing within these hallowed halls without Brothers of Metal. You see, back in 2017 I was a mere lurker at AMG, and might have been content to continue in that capacity if I hadn’t seen a commenter recommending Prophecy of Ragnarök, the debut from the aforementioned Swedes. I checked it out and fell so hard for its sometimes hilarious, sometimes deadly serious take on Norse-mythologized folky power metal that I felt compelled to create a Disqus account just so I could express my thanks to the recommender.” Brother hugger.

ShadowStrike – Legends of Human Spirit [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

By Eldritch Elitist on December 9, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Power Metal, Self-released, Things You Might Have Missed, Things You Might Have Missed 2019, 9 comments

“Legends of Human Spirit, the debut LP from Long Island’s ShadowStrike, does the unthinkable: it places the intro track second. The record’s opening track explodes forth with an instantly gratifying blast of power metal, and only upon its completion does the band indulge in 95 seconds of overwrought narration backed by symphonic bombast. I loathe intro tracks, yet this simple restructuring of Power Metal’s Worst Trope is one of my favorite moments on this record. The act of postponing the intro, while bizarre, exemplifies what makes ShadowStrike so successful.” We’re easily pleased.

Luca Sellitto – The Voice Within Review

By Twelve on December 6, 2019 in 2019, Italian Metal, Power Metal, Pride & Joy Music, Reviews, Power Metal, 19 comments

“As I look back upon the strange and unwieldy mess that we’ve been calling “2019,” I feel like something has been missing. Something uplifting; something powerful. And I’m already short on word count, so, long story short, it’s power metal. In fact, I’m in such a slump for the stuff that seeing The Voice Within, the debut solo album from Luca Sellitto, the guitarist from Italian act Stamina, described as “neoclassical power metal” in the promo bin caused me to grab it so fast I hadn’t even registered the glowing electric guitar on the cover.” Power outage.

Human Fortress – Reign of Gold Review

By Steel Druhm on December 5, 2019 in 2019, AFM Records, German Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 22 comments

“Human Fortress has had a strange and somewhat tragic career. I bought their 2001 debut Lord of Earth and Heavens Heir on a whim and was blown away by the classy, high-quality power metal the band delivered. Aided by the exceptional vocals of Jioti Parcharidis, the band crafted some excellent songs that have stuck with me over the years, and while the album wasn’t perfect, it was a rousing and polished slab o’ Euro-power with tons of hooks. In 2003 they took a big step forward, topping their debut with Defenders of the Crown, which has gone on to become one of my favorite power metal albums of all time and one I still play with great regularity. After this, things began to fall apart.” All that sparkles….

Adrian Benegas – The Revenant Review

By Twelve on November 30, 2019 in 2019, Paraguayan Metal, Power Metal, Pride & Joy Music, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, 15 comments

“Adrian Benegas, perhaps best known as the keyboardist and founder of symphonic metal act Tragul, is at the beginning of a familiar story: a talented musician and composer takes a step away from his band to attempt a symphonic power metal solo project, one in which the story, lyrics, and compositions will be done solely by himself. He will write a story and bring it to life in musical form, bringing in guest musicians and vocalists to play various parts of the story. Is this sounding familiar yet?” Avant horizon.

Stormwarrior – Norsemen Review

By Holdeneye on November 29, 2019 in 2019, German Metal, Massacre Records, Power Metal, Reviews, Speed Metal, Power Metal, Speed Metal, 60 comments

“Aeons ago, long before I answered the casting call to write for this prestigious hostile work environment or had even commented on a review, I was but a reader and lurker of the site. Even then, I imagined that I might one day find my name written upon the sacred digital stone of AMG’s “About” tab. I fancied that I might form an inseparable bond with one Swordborn, the site’s apparent resident cheese custodian. In my fantasies, we’d frolic together through meadows like metal Cupids, firing 4.0’s and 4.5’s at power metal albums all willy nilly, laughing all the while.” Oh, so this is one of those fanfics.

Magic Kingdom – MetAlmighty Review

By Holdeneye on November 22, 2019 in 2019, AFM Records, Belgian Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 21 comments

“Having never heard of Magic Kingdom prior to this review, I was surprised to find out that the band’s existence dates back to 1998 and to find out that Mr. Lance King himself had at one point been involved with the band according to Metal Archives. MetAlmighty finds the band slinging power metal tunes that should satisfy fans of bands like Theocracy, Gloryhammer, and the various incarnations of Rhapsody.” Magic, monsters, and monarchs.

Crusade of Bards – Tales of Bards and Beasts Review

By Kenstrosity on November 13, 2019 in 2019, Power Metal, Pride & Joy Music, Reviews, Spanish Metal, Symphonic Metal, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 37 comments

“Hello, my name is Twelve. I am an addict. I use symphonic metal and Nightwish. I…wait a second. I’m not Twelve! Silly me. But I too enjoy symphonic metal a whole lot, perhaps too much. Even at its cheesiest it makes me unreasonably happy to listen as richly layered orchestrations mesh with distorted guitars and galloping double-bass kits. I especially love it when, like on the incredible Imaginaerum, the band is able to afford recording with a full-blown orchestra and choir—or at least when part of the symphonics come from actual instruments instead of digitally reconstructed simulations. It is this last feature that drew Spanish sextet Crusade of Bards to my attention.” Symphonomania.

Noveria – Aequilibrium Review

By GardensTale on November 7, 2019 in 2019, Italian Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Scarlet Records, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 12 comments

“Coupled with an overly dense production, Forsaken left a bad taste in my mouth, and my review was decidedly mixed, noting the issues above, while lamenting how good everything else was. Noveria is absolutely a talented band; they just made a series of misjudgments that I could not overlook and feverishly hoped they would not repeat. So it wasn’t without some hesitation I took up Aequilibrium. And let me tell you: there are few greater joys than the feeling that a band has taken your constructive criticism to heart.” Power with grace.

The Wizards of Winter – The Christmas Dream Review

By Cherd on November 5, 2019 in 2019, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, International Metal, Melodic Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Self-released, Symphonic Metal, Hard Rock, Melodic Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Rock, Symphonic Metal, 28 comments

“If you’re familiar with Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, The Christmas Dream by holidazzle super group The Wizards of Winter is the metal equivalent. I myself am no stranger to these cinematic fruitcakes, as Mrs. Cherd and my jolly old father-in-law take perverse pleasure in subjecting me to them every Yuletide. It’s become such a tradition that we’ve devised a game of Christmas movie trope bingo, and it’s easily adapted to this brand of metal holiday album.” Nice snow globes!