Swordborn

Graveshadow – Ambition’s Price Review

Graveshadow – Ambition’s Price Review

“Very occasionally, lurking in the shadows of a genre I generally skip over, a band leaps out to capture my attention with a blend of elements exceptional enough in quality to turn my head despite my bias. California’s Graveshadow is generally declared to be symphonic and/or gothic metal – both of which I write off regularly due to an incompatibility in taste.” Grave ambition.

Shadowkeep – Shadowkeep Review

Shadowkeep – Shadowkeep Review

“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).

Spellblast – Of Gold and Guns Review

Spellblast – Of Gold and Guns Review

“No, it’s not Orden Ogan’s Gunmen: Part Two, but we’ve got another European power metal band going full-bore American west on us. This time around, it’s a lesser-known Italian power metal act by the name of Spellblast, which is well known to me for its release of a pair of strong, if rather unkempt, albums in 2007’s Horns of Silence and 2010’s Battlecry. In 2014, the band executed a crowdfunding campaign (which I contributed to) for its third studio album entitled Nineteen, which was based on Stephen King’s Dark Tower saga. Unfortunately, despite having the band’s best vocal performance, Nineteen suffered from some serious redundancy and creative regression, caused in part by lineup changes and a new preoccupation with “western themes,” which were much less apparent then than now. No longer presenting a fantastical front, Of Gold and Guns is simply an homage to the characters of the American old west.” Spent bullets and dead horses.

Preludio Ancestral – Oblivion Review

Preludio Ancestral – Oblivion Review

“Next up on the AMG stack of rotating power metal promos is the fourth studio album from Argentinian independent sympho-heavy/power entity Preludio Ancestral, a band heretofore bound to digital obscurity in the South American underground. The band’s past fits with my general impression of many underground metal acts from South American nations: a strange amalgamation of Spanish and English lyricism, bizarre album cover art, and a penchant for very eccentric, almost anarchical musical stylings that run the gamut from alternative rock, Manowar-hailing shirtless heavy metal, and Euro-styled power metal across individual albums.” Hail, hail the shirtless.

Axel Rudi Pell – Knight’s Call Review

Axel Rudi Pell – Knight’s Call Review

Axel Rudi Pell (heretofore abbreviated as ARP) and his gang of Westphalian rockers are a one-trick pony, and the whole world of hard rock and heavy metal well knows this. However, the eponymous band has maintained a solid reputation for consistency and quality amongst those who enjoy the stuff, and Axel himself is an old-fashioned fella whose 80’s mindset frequently comes across in more than just his music.” We Camelot!

Mad Hatter – Mad Hatter Review

Mad Hatter – Mad Hatter Review

“Well okay, this is kind of cute. A power metal band that’s taken a skin-deep Lewis Carroll reference and run with it like the dickens. Adding to Mad Hatter’s adorability factor is its press sheet proclaiming that “The band produces high-quality power metal.” SOLD. This is all cause for some caution, but these guys are also Swedish, and Swede-power draws me like a moth to a flame — even when the bad stuff burns me (hello, Stormhold).” Mushrooms, madness and haberdashery.

Öblivïon – Resilience Review

Öblivïon – Resilience Review

Those readers who have been following the metal scene for a few years are quite probably acquainted with French heavy/power act Nightmare; those who have been with us a bit longer are almost certainly aware that said band’s stretch from 2001 to 2005 saw a dead excellent trio of albums from a creative, traditionally-influenced powerhouse performing at the height of its skill. Today’s review, that of Öblivïon’s Resilience, will everywhere be compared to Nightmare’s “classic” era of the 00’s decade due to the involvement of Jo and David Amore and Steff Rabilloud. The former pair – brothers – were core members of that band, and Rabilloud had a brief stint as keyboardist.” Nightmare by another name.

Armored Dawn – Barbarians in Black Review

Armored Dawn – Barbarians in Black Review

“Now here’s something you don’t see every day: a beefy-sounding Brazilian power metal act with no prior label releases appearing on a label as prominent as AFM. Armored Dawn is a sextet of South Americans who sound and write more like they hail from Germany or Scandinavia. With a certain preoccupation for Viking “lore” — just like half of all of metal — the band’s theme is nothing to write home about, but the album trailer sounded promising enough that I was eager to get my hands on this.” Viking lore or bore?

Random Eyes – Grieve No More Review

Random Eyes – Grieve No More Review

“Finland’s Random Eyes is one of those myriad heavy metal projects that’s been in existence for a surprisingly long time, putting out the occasional independent release but garnering very little in the way of a determined following. The band is probably best known as the full-time home of vocalist Christian Palin (known to me for his work in Magic Kingdom, Epicrenel, and Adagio), and the band in which he’s featured as the main songwriter.” Have pipes will travel.