“Ruthless have ancient roots in the metal scene but haven’t been active enough to gain much notoriety. Their Discipline of Steeldebut was released way back in 1986 when a young undisciplined Steel was living for exactly the kind of US power they deliver, but tragically, our paths never crossed. Turns out they didn’t release a follow-up until 2015 and The Fallen is their fourth full-length.” Tough and Ruthless or rough and toothless?
“The tides of progress in metal will never erode the bedrock of the genre, that special thing we call heavy metal. The mix of power, strength, hope, and joy inherent in this little slice of the metal pie will always appeal to many metalheads so long as the genre continues to exist. Fortunately for Screamer, there will always be a place for records like Highway of Heroes. Fortunately for us, this means bands like Screamer will continue to make them.” Your mom’s a… nah, too easy.
“A while ago, I was walking about and found myself in want of a quick, cheap, easy snack. I knew I was close to a McDonald’s, and that a greasy, delicious McDouble was under two bucks; perfect. Yet when I reached the restaurant, something was weird: it was called “McCafe” and designed to look trendy, modern, and friendly to Starbucks-sipping screenplay scribblers. I used to be rather good at guessing an album’s genre based on the cover, but trips to the record store have proven confusing nowadays for the more extreme variants of metal.” Destroying for fun.
“Britain’s Shadowkeep lay more or less dormant for seven or eight years following 2008’s The Hourglass Effect, which itself was delayed due to line-up changes. This oft-contracted plague of metal bands received a cure in January of 2017 when none other than James Rivera of Helstar stepped forward and offered his services as the voice of the band for its long-awaited self-titled fourth studio album. As something of a fan of Shadowkeep’s earlier work, and especially The Hourglass Effect, I was interested to see what James would bring to the table in a setting other than Helstar (a band I’m admittedly not overly fond of).” Shadows of Hel(star).
“In 2013, a young German band by the unassuming name of Evertale took the power metal world by storm with an independently-released firestorm of a fantasy power metal debut in Of Dragons And Elves. The band was hurriedly signed to NoiseArt Records and the album re-released, much to the relief of international fans. It’s been nearly a four-year wait, but a follow-up in the German’s signature power metal style is finally here.” Roll out the Orc barrel.
“Paragon has been nothing but consistent over their 22 year career, releasing album after album of raging Germanic power metal in the same vein as Grave Digger and Iron Savior. Though they’ve had plenty of fun moments, 2012’s Forces of Destruction took a big leap forward in terms of song writing, heaviness and staying power. Coming off their best album to date obviously puts more pressure on the band and perhaps that’s the reason for the 4 year wait for Hell Beyond Hell.” Roll out the Cheese wheel!
“What do you get when you take a rough and ready Germanic power metal band and add two members of Blind Guardian? You get a better rough and ready Germanic power metal band. Sinbreed is that band and features the talents of Blind Guardian guitarist Marcus Siepen and drummer Frederik Ehmke, which gives them some instant musical credibility and clout. Their 2009 debut When World’s Collide was a rock solid slab of slick, but angry metal in the vein of modern Accept, Herman Frank and Paragon and Shadows improves on that template with even more raspy, Udo-like vocals and thrashy guitar lines.” More power metal at AMG? What is this, a pirate-shirted coup?
In a world where the masses cry out for shorter reviews, big on numerical ratings and small on subjective opinions, one man bravely gives the picks for Record(s) o’ the Month for November. Now entirely porn free!! If you give us any guff about the choices, yule be sorry!
Steel Druhm heard the cries for more power metal and now he’s running amok with power reviews! This time its Germany’s long toiling speedsters, Paragon. They put the “power” in power metal and Mr. Steel surely appreciates that since there’s quite a power shortage in his neck of the woods.
