The weekly staff playlist and a Blind Guardian primer? Oh snap, this is a good week!
Power Metal
Rexoria – Ice Breaker Review
“What makes something interesting is a whole different ballgame. Until the Sky Dies has 146 comments to this day and remains a staple of the website, so for all the ways in which it is an abomination (and there are many), it is one of the most interesting records we’ve seen so far. But who among you remember, to grab a random example, The Living? Same autumn as Until the Sky Dies, a very nice 3.5, but I’d mostly forgotten about them myself before going back through my own reviews. Fact is, the memories of most of the albums we write about are fleeting, despite the musicians pouring their hearts and souls into what they do. A fate, I fear, may befall Swedish heavy/power outfit Rexoria as well.” Ice breaks, attention fades.
Cathubodua – Continuum Review
“Fucking fuck you fucking all, you fuck fucking fucks. I absolutely fucking hate everyone right now and I blame each and every one of you miserable shits. I suppose I could blame Steel, him having personally assigned me to the nightmare which I must shortly relive, but I blame you. You, ‘dear’ ‘read’-er, are why we do the over worded and under think-ed things that we do, and to the best of my knowledge I have never hurt any of you enough to owe anyone the undertaking that was Continuum, an album I’ll be dedicating my life and liver to erasing the memory of.” Powers.
Galneryus – Into the Purgatory Review
“Galneryus is my favorite power metal band. Hell, they might just be my favorite metal band, period. I can’t call myself a ravenous fan of many artists, but Galneryus’ enormous catalog of righteous Japanese power metal has me foaming at the mouth every time the band so much as hints that they’re entertaining the thought of a new record. The fact that I consider 2017’s Ultimate Sacrifice a low point of their career, yet still felt confident in giving it an honorable mention slot on that year’s list, should say something for their consistency.” Land of the rising fun.
Angry Metal Primer – Mayhem and Galneryus
In which we marry the utmost extremities of the metal spectrum in an wholly unholy situation. Prepare your neck brace.
Gentihaa – Reverse Entropy Review
“Every once in a while, something trvly special makes its way to the bin, something that I just can’t fucking wait to wax reviewic on. I’ve been pretty blessed with the majority of my selections as it is, but there’s still always room for something better—until now. I’ve been lusting over the chance to babble about Radiant Dark, the upcoming masterpiece by the UK’s The Drowning, and at long fucking last the day has come—” Powers used irresponsibly.
Excalion – Emotions Review
“Once upon a time, your friendly neighborhood Steel Druhm was a big time power metal nerd. I loved nearly all of it, no matter how cheesy, poppy, dragon intensive or elf friendly it was. With advancing age and the inevitable cynicism that follows, my tolerance for saccharine-sweet Euro-pop-power diminished, and I’ve became increasingly judicious in what is deigned worthy for admittance in the ears ov Steel. One of the few power metal albums I still return to regularly is Excalion’s 2007 opus Waterlines. The Finnish act found a near-perfect blend of heaviness, accessibility and over-the-top fun on that platter and its withstood the test of time and shifts in listening habits.” Songs and Emotion.
Sonata Arctica – Talviyö Review
“Sonata Arctica’s Talviyö marks the 20-year anniversary of the release of Ecliptica. For many fans, the band’s first four albums are the real highlight of their career. But one thing that Tony Kakko and his lovable band of Finns could never do was to sit still. Instead, in 2007, they released Unia, which saw them deviating from the formula they had perfected as an upstart Europower band. Since then, they haven’t stood still.” Stillness of winter.
Elvenking – Reader of the Runes – Divination Review
“While checking out a music video for one of the lead singles to Elvenking’s latest record, Reader of the Runes – Divination, I stumbled across a comment that deeply resonated with me. To paraphrase: “This is pretty good, but I still feel like a Pagan Manifesto widow.” It’s rare for a band to drop their best album seventeen years and eight LPs in their career, but 2014’s The Pagan Manifesto was precisely that.” Everything’s runed.
Ivory Tower – Stronger Review
“I stumbled across Beyond the Stars, the sophomore outing by unsung German prog metallers, Ivory Tower. Though they weren’t doing anything Dream Theater hadn’t done 500 times bigger and with more drum solos, there was something oddly endearing and earnest about the band’s material. I never saw or heard about another release from them until Stronger bobbed up in the promo bin unexpectedly. I doubted it was even the same band, but it is indeed.” Swole spire.
