“Progressive power metal is a challenging genre to really nail. If you go too light, it feels insubstantial and sugary. Go too heavy on the prog and tech aspects and you lose accessibility. U.K.s Awake by Design have been refining and developing their sound since 2009, and on their self-titled third album they treat you to an hour and 17 minutes of melodic prog-power with nods to Kamelot and Pyramaze.” Sleep waking.
“Is it really that time of year already? Well, not quite, but Steel Druhm needs to correct a grievous error. I admit when I blow it and entirely miss a worthwhile release. I may do so grudgingly and with bitterness, but I do it. Well, this may be my biggest miss ever, since Trail of Murder is not only a great band, but features one of my all time favorite singers, Urban Breed (ex-Tad Morose, ex-Bloodbound).” Look, mistakes were made and finger pointing won’t solve anything at this point. I said I was sorry!!! Sheesh.
WARNING: Steel Druhm struggled muchly with this review and he’s a bit cranky. Approach with caution…and beer.
When we say we missed this release, we mean we REALLY missed it…by years!
Here’s a band I bet most haven’t heard of and some actively avoided due to their “christian metal” tag. Well, its time you heard of them and stopped worrying about such silly tags. However, for those diehard, anti-christian, pagan warriors of Wotan, try replacing “christian metal” with “white metal” or “good metal.” Okay, that probably didn’t help AT ALL but the point is, Theocracy is a really good band and their third album As The World Bleeds is an exceptional dose of progressive power metal. Once a one-man project helmed by Matt Smith, Theocracy is now a fully functioning band and these altar boys can really play! Sounding like a mash-up of Avantasia, Axenstar, Balance of Power, Eden’s Curse and Shadow Gallery, they deliver hyper-polished, super-slick, technical, proggy power with a ton of melodic hooks and a fair amount of heavy edge to boot. Songwriting is first-rate, musicianship is very impressive and heck, God will appreciate you listening to it. When was the last time you hordes of miscreants could honestly say that? Yeah, that’s what I thought, sinners! In all seriousness, this is a great power metal album, regardless of religious inclination. If you dig melodic metal, follow Steel Druhm through the desert of this review and he’ll deliver you to the Angry Promised Land.
