Excalion

Excalion – Once Upon a Time Review

By Steel Druhm on March 23, 2023 in Reviews, 40 comments

“I opened my review for Excalion’s 2019 opus, Emotions with the words “Once upon a time,” and here we are almost four years later with their sixth album, Once Upon a Time! Clearly, Steel has real clout in the power metal universe! I’ve been a fan of this Finnish power metal outfit since I stumbled upon their 2007 sophomore outing, Waterlines, which remains one of my favorite albums in the genre. Since then Excalion have proved to be reliable purveyors of punchy, catchy power with enough muscle and grit to satisfy those among us who do not own frilly pirate shirts.” Tell us a power story!

Burning Point – Arsonist of the Soul Review

By Steel Druhm on October 21, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 21 comments

“Burning Point have a very inconsistent track record in the Euro-power rat race. Early releases Salvation by Fire and Feeding the Flames were decent but a bit too generic to leave a lasting impression. Some subsequent albums just seemed phoned in, further consigning them to second or third-tier status in the Euro-power sweepstakes. It wasn’t until 2012s The Ignitor that they delivered an album that really grabbed my attention and shook it. Full of heavy, aggressive riffs and powerful vocals, it was a punchy, angry dose of power leaning into Mystic Prophecy and Brainstorm territory with good results. Just as things seemed to be heading in the right direction, vocalist Pete Ahonen pulled a Kai Hansen, opting to hand off vocal duties and focus solely on guitar.” Burning bridges and lineups.

Domination Black – Judgement IV Review

By Steel Druhm on July 21, 2020 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 16 comments

“I recently got over a massive and long-lived death metal kick where all I wanted to hear was nasty, brutish music, only to stumble headlong into an unexpected power metal fixation. Yeah, I don’t get it either, but this led me to scoop up Domination Black’s Judgment IV for judgement.” Dominance and judgement.

Excalion – Emotions Review

By Steel Druhm on September 30, 2019 in 2019, Finnish Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Scarlet Records, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 15 comments

“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.

Steel Druhm’s Top Ten(ish) of 2017

By Steel Druhm on December 31, 2017 in 2017, Blog Posts, 170 comments

“To think I’ve been doing this since April of 2010 makes my steely head spin. So much has happened around here in that time and we’ve grown from mega-kvlt to pretty damn big over the years (especially in Japan).” Music to embiggon the soul.

Force Majeure – The Rise of Starlit Fires Review

By Eldritch Elitist on September 15, 2017 in 2017, Finnish Metal, Mighty Music, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 23 comments

“The AMG promo well had been experiencing a significant power metal drought since I rolled into these hallowed halls roughly a year ago, but within in the past month, something changed. There were no less than five new releases in the genre to choose from, and choose I did; Tales of Gaia turned out disastrously, but I figured that Finland’s Force Majeure, with their surprisingly audacious band name, might turn things around.” Unprecedented or run o’ the mill?

Excalion – Dream Alive Review

By Steel Druhm on July 5, 2017 in 2017, Finnish Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Scarlet Records, Power Metal, 58 comments

“There was a time not so long ago I would have argued for Excalion being one of the best Euro-power acts out there. 2007s Waterlines was and is one of my most played albums in the genre, and 2010s High Time followup was more polished but no less striking and addictive. It seemed as if the band was on the verge of breaking into the next level and giving Sonata Arctica and Stratovarious some serious competition. Then the guns fell silent and Excalion disappeared. I wrote them off as another promising act that died before reaching their full potential and moved on. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised to see their name floating in our promo bay and I hoped they could pick up where they left off nearly a decade ago.” Keeping the dream alive.