“A Christmas tree shorn of spectacle is just a skeleton pining for its casket. Deathless Legacy are loud, boisterous and with their untrammeled Italian bombast are hoping to capture hearts and minds with Rituals of Black Magic, but they’ll have to prove they harbor substance beyond their sparkling facade.” Of bare trees and Italian cheese.
“As this particular combination of band name and album art has probably deterred the chunk of our visitors who are power metal-phobic, these next words will likely fall on the ears of those who want to hear them least: most power metal is bad. My love affair with the genre will never completely fizzle, but with so many start-ups crutching on knock-off Helloween choruses executed through dreadful vocal performances and robotic rhythm sections, picking out the diamonds in the rough is often a fruitless task.” When the eagle doesn’t cry.
“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.
“Since their 2009 debut, Mastercastle have blasted from the blocks by channeling Iron Maiden’s otherworldly focus on output. The Italians released five albums in six years, intent on spreading their cheesy neo-classicisms far and wide. This shotgun approach has done the band no favors, though; their potency stretched thinner with each new release. With lead axeman Pier Gonella nearing his 30th album, concerns of diminishing creative stores seem all too prescient. Mastercastle’s sixth release Wine of Heaven reaches the breaking point, shaking the emperor down, stripping him naked, and flogging him through the streets.” All cheese, no wine.
“Until recently, Arthemis had been one of around a few dozen bands I’d always had a mild curiosity for but had never bothered to closely investigate. I’m convinced the only reason I knew of their existence was because they included Power Quest’s vocalist and guitarist (Alessio Garavello and Andrea Martongelli, respectively) amongst their ranks, though now only the latter remains in the band. I also vaguely remembered them from high school as one of a handful of power metal bands that had a propensity for including bare breasts on their album covers, which always struck me as an ironic practice for what might be metal’s least sexy genre.” From Power Quest to Power Chests.
“Hey, you! Yeah, that’s right, I know you and your ilk, only scurrying out of your hatch for a new record if the music is heavier than a dying panda reading Sartre and the album is only available in limited release as sheet music stapled to the bathroom door in an abandoned hospital. Well, you better slink back to your cobweb-ridden hovel as Life-Related Symptoms by Anewrage is none of those things.” Time to appreciate the gentler things in life.
“I like folk metal. It’s best when it takes the form of black metal infused with instrumentation and arrangements native to its respective country. Saor, Panopticon, and Nechochwen are truly great examples of this. The upbeat frolics of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, and their ilk are not merely average by comparison but actively annoying. I find their attempts at inducing happiness grating and vapid. There are logically two conclusions which I would likely reach following my random selection of Atlas Pain’s What the Oak Left: delight or irritation.” Not liking Korpiklaani is like hating dogs.
“In January of 2007, I received one of the best packages of my teenage years, purchased with a Best Buy gift card I received for Christmas. The box contained two CDs: The Best of Led Zeppelin, and Cellador’s Enter Deception. While the former helped kickstart my affinity for classic rock, the latter, an uncharacteristically high quality American power metal record that did Euro-power better than most Euro-power bands, cemented my newfound love for the genre.” Best Buy always knows.
“Despite trying to sound like Death SS via their humble beginnings as a tribute to those guys, Deathless Legacy comes across more as a soporific Halloween-themed Nightwish, but with worse vocals. There are plenty of keyboards, and the tempos don’t generally get too lively. Sadly, ‘Monster Mash’ may actually make for an apt comparison.” So much for the Transylvanian Twist.
“My short tenure with everyone’s favourite Angry Metal website has already changed my views on music in profound and mysterious ways. Forming an opinion on an album used to be instinctual; I either liked what I heard (and thus listened to it repeatedly), or I did not. I have since realized things are not quite so black and white. What happens when faced with an album that is not enjoyable? Disregarding it is not an option. As great as it would be to write “this shit stinks” and call it a day, such a review be in rather poor taste and probably land me squarely in front of HR.” Ask HMG how that went….
