DragonForce

DragonForce – Warp Speed Warriors Review

By Eldritch Elitist on March 20, 2024 in Reviews, Power Metal, 70 comments

“We’ve all had that moment when we hear a new single from a band we love and think “well, maybe that’s just the worst song from the album!” In the case of “Doomsday Party,” I could not afford DragonForce and Warp Speed Warriors such optimism. Sure, Napalm Records releases are often heralded by absolute stinkers in an apparent gamble at mass appeal, but with the British power metal wanksters’ ninth record arriving on the heels of what was easily the band’s worst showing to date, my thin hopes for a makeup album quickly disintegrated.” Dragon, why do you cry?

AMG Goes Ranking – DragonForce

By Eldritch Elitist on March 19, 2024 in AMG Rankings, Blog Posts, Power Metal, 74 comments

Before the review of the new Dragonforce platter hits, the power nerds at AMG wanted to nerd out with a ranking of their noddle-fests. We let them for some reason.

Moonlight Sorcery – Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle Review

By El Cuervo on October 2, 2023 in Reviews, Melodic Black Metal, 71 comments

“The unheralded band that could. Moonlight Sorcery are a melodic black metal band that materialized out of nowhere and destroyed any skepticism I had about their buzz. Their first EP, Piercing through the Frozen Eternity, was killer, comprising 4 tracks of bona fide 4.5 material. The sequel, Nightwind: Conqueror from the Stars, was darker, moodier, and less melodic but still extremely compelling. Not even a year following the second of these, I was delighted to discover that a full-length debut was due; 44 minutes of premium black metal was promised. Is it even possible for these Finns to match my expectations?” Finnish magic and mayhem.

Fimbulvet – Portale Review

By El Cuervo on May 2, 2023 in Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 11 comments

“Promising Paganistic black metal, and a single that at least piqued my curiosity, I had hoped that Germany’s Fimbulvet might execute on the rousing, fist-pumping feel of my favorite Viking and folk metal bands. I was surprised to find that their new record, Portale, is released close to the band’s 20th anniversary, being their fifth full-length but first in 9 years. There’s a lot to be said about a storied band but equally a lot to be said for a storied band that I’ve not encountered.” Unknown and unknowing.

Kamelot – The Awakening Review

By Eldritch Elitist on March 17, 2023 in Reviews, Power Metal, 97 comments

“I don’t really feel nostalgia for Kamelot. I tried getting into them when they released The Black Halo in 2005, which, though widely regarded as their best work, bounced off my DragonForce-pilled adolescent mind. To me, Kamelot was slow and boring, a brand of power metal that sacrificed the genre’s trademark excess in a bid to win over music intellectuals, socialites, and critics. Older and much wiser was I when the excellent Silverthorn dropped in 2012, which rekindled my interest in Kamelot as I devoured their back catalog. And then came the slow decline.” Of empires forlorn.

Ascension – Under the Veil of Madness Review

By Kenstrosity on March 5, 2023 in Reviews, Power Metal, 87 comments

“Eleven years. Eleven years since Scotland’s Ascension released their debut record, Far Beyond the Stars. While shreddery and wank found a cozy little home on that record, the songs were there, the talent amongst all involved abundant. It was clear from the very start that Ascension were a band to watch for, primed and ready to unseat DragonForce for hyper-speed cheese supremacy after Inhuman Rampage exploded in the mid-aughts. But eleven years is a long time to wait.” Tick tock….

Twilight Force – At the Heart of Wintervale Review

By Eldritch Elitist on January 19, 2023 in Reviews, 70 comments

“Twilight Force’s Dawn of the Dragonstar should have been on my 2019 year-end list. Hell, I should have at least written a Things You Might Have Missed piece on it. Yet in retrospect, at the time, the prospect of fully embracing Twilight Force was borderline embarrassing, even for me.” Return of the GammaStrataWeenie.

Fellowship – The Saberlight Chronicles Review

By Eldritch Elitist on July 14, 2022 in Reviews, Power Metal, 314 comments

“I know that most of you have already eyed my score on this review, and have nearly broken your damn necks from the whiplash of rapidly scrolling up for answers. For many, this choice will come across as confusing and misguided, but as someone who’s listened to Fellowship’s self-titled EP on repeat for two years, it’s anything but. That EP might be the reason I survived the early pandemic days with my sanity intact. It’s a bottomless wellspring of joy, dominated by gorgeous melodies, exhilarating solos, and clever, heartwarming lyrical turns. On the strength of those three songs alone, Fellowship’s debut LP would have probably been my power metal album of the year. The fact that every song on the record is as good as or better than any song from the EP puts it in another class entirely.” Off to see the Wizzard.

Skeletoon – The 1.21 Gigawatts Club Review

By Holdeneye on October 18, 2021 in Reviews, Power Metal, 40 comments

“I’d like to start this review with an apology to Eldritch Elitist. I violated his rights by covering Skeletoon’s 2020 album, Nemesis. In Steel Druhm‘s excitement to assign me a goofy album from a goofy band with a goofy name, and in my excitement to receive such an honor, we both failed to realize that Eldritch had covered Skeletoon’s Goonies-themed album They Never Say Die in 2019, giving him the right of prima promo. The gracious Mr. Elitist gently broke the news to me shortly after that review published, and even went so far as to allow me to cover this, Skeletoon’s fifth album in six years. The Nerd Metal Superheroes are headed back into classic film territory, this time tackling the Back to the Future trilogy.” Yucks Capacitor.

Demonical – World Domination Review

By Diabolus in Muzaka on October 29, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, 18 comments

“Demonical is a reliably good band from that everflowing stream of Swe-death. I got into them on the fun Death Infernal and kept with them ever since. I know when I want some cool modern Swe-death that merges Dismember, Entombed, and Amon Amarth pretty effectively, I can turn to Demonical.” Demonical inwasion!