“Dealer of Souls is very much a continuation of Divine Judgement in stylistic terms. Although a thrash band at its core, built on the foundations of the likes of Sodom, Gomorra owes as much, if not more, of its sound to the likes of Judas Priest and Iced Earth.” GoMOAR!
Losing a friend sucks. Whether human or animal, sudden or expected, chronic or acute, death comes as part of life and rarely does it arrive when we most need it. Unfortunately, shortly before the release of Risingfallߵs debut album, Rise or Fall, one of their founding members, Yoshiki, gave way to a chronic illness. However, Risingfall knew they couldn’t let this hold them down—this throwback act hailing from Japan knows there’s only one way to celebrate death: heavy metal.” Metal never dies.
“When we last saw Judicator grace these hallowed pages, ‘consistent’ was a word that could have been aptly used to describe the band’s situation. For the second time in as many years, they were releasing a historically themed opus of quality power metal tunes with the exact same lineup, and Let There Be Nothing nearly matched The Last Emperor’s brilliance. It seemed as if Judicator had found a winning formula that placed them at the front of the modern US power metal pack, but little did we know that change was coming.” Revisionist history.
![LiveWire – Under Attack! [Things You Might Have Missed 2022]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Livewire_UnderAttack_01.jpg.webp)
“I don’t remember how I heard about LiveWire’s debut record, Under Attack!, but I do know that its album artwork caught my eye as I scrolled through my Bandcamp feed, and, well, here we are. The Aussie troupe used to operate under the moniker Fenrir, but in 2019 they rebranded and shifted in style. Since then, a few singles trickled out of the pipeline until April, when this absolute supernova of a record exploded into existence.” Hardwired to sponge destruct.
“With the stunning, back-to-back releases of Fall From Grace and Purgatory, it isn’t easy to imagine the band could ever top them. So, when 2018’s The Offering surfaced, I knew the very thing I feared had come true. The passion so instrumental to the band’s success felt zapped from the songwriting. And, where it was weakest, the orchestration was heaviest—as if trying to hide the lack of emotion found in previous releases. As I said in my review of The Offering, it’s still a strong enough album to revisit and enjoy. But something was missing. This year’s Illusions is a sequel to The Offering’s story. But will it be a sequel to that album’s struggling delivery?” Fire in the sky, bombast in the pie.
The tension between their Blind Guardian’s thrash heritage and their orchestral pretenses have been at the center of their career development (and missteps). If 2019’s Twilight Orchestra was an album that fell short because they overreached their bounds, one potential risk has always been that The God Machine would be an over-correction. But would Blind Guardian really stagnate?
“Splintered Throne hails from Portland, Oregon, and while The Greater Good of Man is their third full-length album, it’s something of a fresh start for the band. After founding member and longtime vocalist Brian Garrison left, the band brought celebrated blues singer Lisa Mann into the fold, and it doesn’t take long for her to prove that she’s more than a match for Splintered Throne’s heavy/power/hard rock formula.” Chairkiller.
“A crazy thing happened in 2020—Holdeneye was right about Scardust. So, when I was perusing the promo pudding for a sonic snack that swooned my spoon, I popped the foil on a new Israeli symphonic power metal group, Stormbound, hoping that they might be part of a growing movement from the small but mighty country.” See you in December.
“The Uncertain Hour, over the course of fifty minutes or so, launches the listener through a galloping field of riffs, leads, and triumphant melodies in one of the better samples of symphonic power metal I’ve heard lately. Upbeat, catchy, and well-written, it has all of the makings of a grower, and talent to match.” Death is certain, good reviews are not.
“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.
