The band has remained intact, and with eight songs in 49 minutes, the songs are a little longer than your average metal songs. No fancy intros, and the riff to “Sword Vigor” opens the album with some well-placed guitar harmonies and solos. Rather than go right into a fast song, this is a mid-paced gallop with soaring vocals, which is how they opened their debut album, come to think of it, as that was not a fast opener. Atli Guðlaugsson has a set of pipes on him that will rival any of the best power metal singers out there. Bjarni Egill Ögmundsson still strikes the keyboard with flair, and it adds to the blips and bloops of a variety of sound textures. Bjarni Þór Jóhannsson and Ingi Þórisson are even more blistering with their guitar work, scorching!! Nice album opener, however, I wanted a faster song to open the album.

My wish is granted with the second song, “Glade Lords of Athel Loren”. This is where drummer Einar Karl Júlíusson earns that big paycheck. Truly a monstrous blistering thrashy power metal song. His drum work, especially the double bass action, is perfectly executed. Midway through this 6 ½ minute number, there is some whimsical atmospherics, and the fast moment, erupting with the double bass, will knock you on your arse. Then the vocals get into a bit of a gruff death metal tone; this guy surely appreciates that. The song must be in their live set. Amazing.

“The Royal Road” is up next with a cheeky spoken word clip and right into the thrashy speed. The song gets groovy, with isolated instrument moments, and Kristleifur Þorsteinsson, with his bass guitar, starts plucking on our heartstrings, with the emotive Maidenesque melodies. This has crazy soaring vocal tones, and while we attempt to catch our breath.

“The Arcane Tower” swoops in and erupts fast. The slower elements take over with the keyboard action. The keys are never overbearing and are there as another instrument. They do, however, enhance the soundscape. The speedy elements get going with a monstrous chest collapsing double bass. Over-the-top vocals abound and even get higher in the mix. During these moments, and trust me, I love the vocals, the mix should have been slightly scaled back, as they do overwhelm the other instruments, ever so slightly. After some atmospherics, the speed and guitar solos kick in, and I am glad to hear the instruments do their thing and the vocals take a back seat for a bit.

“Aegis of Eternity” is a damn good song with terrific opening guitar harmonies and solos, then right into the fast, speedy power metal. The keys are piped in a bit louder as they seem to be doing their own solo. This is a real fun moment. The song slows down with a classic 80’s metal feel to it. The song speeds up again, like the beginning, with the keyboards almost acting like a third guitar. I love it. The 3.12 moment, with the wild keys, swirling drums, and then the guitars kicking in, will bring any power metal fan a smile from ear to ear. This is another killer song. The next several numbers are devoid of any real speed. There’s a lot of mid-paced action, and the last song, “Valediction”, at close to ten minutes, I would have liked some more speedy action happening. The song is good with thunderous, mid-paced moments, but a song this long screams for faster moments, rather than just the beginning, short, fast moment. Overall, it is a good song.

Beyond the Reach of Enchantment is a damn good album from Power Paladin. The fast power metal moments are rooted in thrash metal, with the heaviness, and I love these songs the best. For me, I think a mix-up of the song order would have been better for placement and listening purposes. However, with each song kinda going in order of telling a story, maybe that was the challenging part the band faced. The production and mix, overall, are really good for this type of music. I previously mentioned my quips. I would like to see the band spread out the faster songs throughout the album, so they don’t shoot their load so early on. I love the fantasy-laced album cover, and anytime there is a dragon in the background, count me in. Fun album.

And for me, it’s super cheesy power metal. And not normal power metal- I fall hard for the super bouncy, synth-driven or high fantasy stuff like Twilight Force, Windrose, Beast in Black, etc, and currently that itch is being scratched by the recent Sabaton album, Legends, and the 6th album from Finland’s Battle Beast. And I’m still mad that COVID forced me to miss their US tour in 2022.

I’ve enjoyed the last couple of efforts from these guys, 2022’s Circus of Doom and 2019’s No More Hollywood Endings, and Steelbound makes no changes to the sugary sweet formula that mixes big,  catchy power metal and more traditional heavy metal. All driven by powerhouse Noora Louhimo, whose voice is still one of the most powerful in the genre.

Battle Beast‘s bread and butter is rousing, almost 80s montage-sounding glam/heavy metal (opener “The Burning Within”, “Here We Are”, “Steelbound”, “Last Goodbye”, and Heart-ish, radio friendly “Angel of Midnight”), with huge, anthemic choruses meant for open roads and open car windows, that is a stone’s throw from the hair bands of the 80s. I dare you not to grin and sing along to the chorus of that soaring opening track. I guarantee it will put you in a better mood instantly. Only “Twilight Cabaret” missed the mark for me.

But for me, the more bombastic, epic, more symphonic-driven sounds are where Battle Beast hit the mark for me. And the album’s last quarter has much more of it, starting with the 2-minute cinematic number “The Long Road”.  Then the blaring “Blood of Heroes”, arguably one of the best, most epic songs the band has penned,  could be a Manowar number with a soaring, blood-pumping chorus. While the simply addictive “Riders of the Storm” has another chorus to die for (I hope videos are coming for either/both). The closer “Watch the Sky Fall” ends the album on a killer, anthemic end note.

Like the albums before it, Steelbound is the direct dopamine shot into your ears that the world needs right now.

I’ll admit, though, the band’s last two WWI-themed efforts, The Great War and The War to End All Wars, didn’t really do it for me. They were both decent efforts, but had a lot of filler, a signature of Sabaton albums where they either deliver absolute bangers or some forgettable duds. And while Legends, has a similar MO, it’s better than the last two efforts, but still has some absolutely fucking banging tracks with some predictable filler.

Maybe the move on from a singular topic in the grim subject matter of WWI to their more traditional, varied military and historical themes of battles and personas from The Templar Knights, The Ronin, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Vlad the Impaler has reenergized Joakim Broden and co., as Legends is a little more banger than filler, with tracks that deliver the band’s trademark catchy, epic choruses and choirs/synths.

“Templars” opens with a strong number and a stern, marching chorus, and is up there with one of the band’s more memorable, catchy, better tracks, as are “Crossing the Rubicon”, “I, Emperor”, “Maid of Steel”, Iron Maiden-ish “The Duelist”, and fucking brilliantly catchy, marching album closer “Til Seger”, with its classic Sabaton key change (and a pace and verse similar to “Gott Mitt Uns”), which has jumped right up there with “Winged Hussars”, “Got Mitt Uns”, “Aces in Exile”, “To Hell and Back”, “7734” and “The Last Stand” as my go to Sabaton tunes.

But as with all their albums, tracks like “A Tiger Among Dragons”, “Impaler”, “Lighting at the Gates” and balladic “The Cycle of Songs” are totally skippable, and certainly won’t convert anyone to being a Sabaton fan if they are not already a fan of the band’s distinctly divisive power metal.

“TIL SEGER!!!!!!!”

This is some epic Power Metal with more Pirate Metal influences than you can shake a saber at. I do love some killer Power Metal, and Terra Atlantica delivers it in spades here on Oceans. This is their fourth full-length album, and I’m here to tell you it’s a solid banger.

Beginning with the short intro “Ocean Fever,” it sets the tone for what’s to come: some heavy-duty sea shanties from these Hamburg, Germany, maniacs. “Back to the Sea” gets the ball rolling with some serious chops. There’s shouted gang vocals galore and so many galloping rhythms it’s like a herd of horses coming from the speakers.

This is what I’ve been looking for, tales of battles on the high seas, not party songs about Mexico, which is exactly what Terra Atlantica doesn’t sing about. “Hoist the Sail” has all those glorious moments where Accordion and brutal guitars meet, and some beefy gang vocals to add punch to the proceedings.

“Caribbean Shores”, “Turn of the Tide”, and “Through the Water and the Waves” pulse with the band’s own take on the sub-genre, and they’re super fucking fun, the songs demanding that you bang your head until your brain sloshes like Jello in your skull. Razor sharp riffs keep the songs going at mach speed; the latter sporting some growled vocals in the background.

It’s ballad time, and Terra Atlantica is great at creating gravitas. They serve it up with some beautiful guitar on “Where My Brothers Await”, and for a few minutes, you’re taken away to some exotic shoreline, shipwrecked and royally fucked. “Land of Submarines” is another fun track, and a huge festival-sized rager with some killer riffing throughout.

One of the things I noticed is that Terra Atlantica isn’t afraid to use some Pop-Punk harmonies, and they raise their head in “Raven in the Dark”, and it doesn’t suck; surprisingly, it works perfectly within the Pirate Metal influences. “To the Realm of Gods” is just ridiculous in how good it is, but it’s the final track that brings it all together. “Oceans of Eternity” is delivered in a My Chemical Romance sort of Power Metal meets Emo Hardcore in a strange way, but it fucking rips. It shouldn’t work, but it does, and it’s the perfect way to end Oceans.

Say what you will about the sub-genre that Running Wild made popular in the 80s, but it’s spawned a great list of bands, including Rum Runners and Alestorm, so you can add Terra Atlantica to that list (if you haven’t already, I didn’t know they existed till now, and this is album number four already).

Go forth and pillage their back catalog and pick up Oceans while you’re there.

Power and majesty have always been the cornerstone of any Helloween album (well, maybe not Pink Bubbles Go Ape,) but every album has this sense of awe surrounding it; that’s mainly due to the fact that despite line-up changes, they have been constantly releasing solid Metal albums.

Before you ask, I’m not going to get into the weeds of a history lesson, because at this point, if you’ve ever wanted to get into them, just go to Walls of Jericho and let the journey begin.

Now we’re in 2025 and the band is back with a brand spanking new slab of Teutonic extremity, hot on the heels of their incredibly fun Live At Budokhan (that was reviewed in these hallowed pages by yours truly).

Giants and Monsters is fucking killer. There, I said it; review over. No, not really… are you kidding? Jefe would string me from the side of the ship and keelhaul my stupid ass.

Beginning with the rising keyboards is “Giants on the Run” a shredding Thrash fest that changes tempo like a Formula 1 racing car, and it gets downright menacing near the end of the song. Even after all these years, Helloween still has the goods. “Savior of the World” goes full-throttle, pedal to the fucking Metal. Everything sounds phenomenal, like being there in the studio watching the album being recorded.

My first favorite track is “A Little is a Little too Much” it’s a bit of a mid-paced crusher with a catchy as fuck chorus and some killer soloing throughout.

Andi Deris and Kai Hansen are powerhouses on Giants and Monsters, their voices pairing off with each other, the fantastic production makes this an insanely fun album, and the bad as fuck artwork is like the wrapping paper on this gift of German steel.

“We Can be Gods” is a delicious thrasher, and it’s followed by a not-annoying ballad reminiscent of “A Tale That Wasn’t Right” from Keeper of the Seven Keys part 1. I generally hate ballads by other bands, Helloween being the exception to that statement. They’re just so good at it, I can’t help liking it.

“Into the Sun” gives way to the jumping up and down energy of “This is Tokyo” which is a better track than Alestorm’s “Mexico” even though they’re two different genres, and I just wanted to take a stab at Alestorm for no reason.

“Universe (Gravity for Hearts)” is one of those upbeat feel-good Helloween tracks. Power Metal has always had this optimistic impact on me; it boosts my confidence to the point where I feel like I can kill dragons and shit. The track has a badass break in the middle with some soaring vocals from Kai Hansen, and triumphant soloing for fist pumping, head-down raging.

Helloween can literally do no wrong. If they released an album of Lawrence Welk Polkas, it would still be fucking killer. “Hand of God” is not a Polka, it’s an intense mid-paced crusher with some snarling vocals from Hansen and Deris; such a magnificent song on an outstanding album from these stalwarts.

I didn’t know that their first Demo was called Death Metal Demo, and that’s from 1984! Interesting that the term was being used before Possessed used it on Seven Churches (give or take, around the same time).

Anyway, that’s a tidbit I wanted to share with you, constant reader. “Under the Moonlight” has a sort of “Living Ain’t no Crime” feeling to it that makes me giddy, and it’s followed by the immense, epic as hell, and suitably titled “Majestic”. It has a bit of an Iron Maiden vibe to the chorus and with it being the last song on Giants and Monsters it HAS to be a big, fat assed song, and it really is the perfect way to close out this 19th full-length (I need to reinforce the ‘full-length’ aspect of that statement because with singles and splits and compilation sets of various types, they have an incredibly huge body of work). So yeah, 19 full-length albums later and Helloween show no signs of slowing down or stopping their juggernaut mid-conquest.

Giants and Monsters is a great Helloween album. It manages to keep the ferocity and intensity of their 80s output while moving forward to show the world how it’s done. This is an album that throws the spiked gauntlet on the ground and says bring it the fuck on, Helloween are the kings of Power Metal; everyone else is pretenders to their throne. Get this beast now!

On the one hand, that album was such a blistering, impressive debut that, over a decade later, it still holds a place in my weekly (often daily) music rotations. It hit at such an intoxicating crossroads of breakneck Dragonforce-inspired Power Metal, Children of Bodom-esque Finnish Melodeath, and a uniquely-Canadian brand of just straight up epic metal ala Blackguard, Karkaos and others that scratch such a litany of itches that they become appealing to nearly any and all fans of Metal. Imagine if Wintersun were both unpretentious and unannoying, and have them pack an even heavier punch, that’s kinda what we’re looking at here. So yeah, I was definitely more than a little fucking pumped for this new album.

On the other hand, I was also REALLY nervous. Like, what if this was Caddy Shack II or Jaws: The Revenge? What if well enough should have been left alone? Sometimes it’s better just to kill off the great thing you love than let it linger and become a mere shadow of what it once was. And sure, the band did give us a tease in 2020 with 3 blazing tracks (including a blistering rerecording of “Betrayed by Thy King” which was phenomenal), but in many ways that just set the table for an even bigger disappointment. What if, after all the setbacks that kept the band from releasing new material, they just didn’t have “it” anymore? What if it had been beaten out of them?

OR, hear me out: What if it’s everything you couple possibly hope it would be?

What if, indeed.

From any sensible viewpoint, Whispers of War is an IMMENSE success. Expecting the band to have taken some gigantic leap forward, even given the time they’ve had to work on and perfect this thing, was always unlikely. Instead, WOW is like a grand reintroduction to these guys – a chance for longtime fans to become reacquainted, and for listeners new to the band to both come into this album on equal footing, because this has everything that made their prior release so completely compelling, but delivered in a shinier, more refined package from a production standpoint. It’s everything anyone could reasonable want.

From the foreboding intro of “Dawn of an Age,” Crimson Shadows show their ready to prove they haven’t lost a single step. A blitzkrieg Power Metal attack from guitarists Greg Rounding and Ryan Hofing certainly lead the charge, with riffs that would make Herman Li himself struggle to keep up, and the blistering dual guitar soloing these two continue to deploy is every bit as impressive and mind-blowing as anything you’d get from Dragonforce‘s legendary pair. Drummer Cory Hofing (also of Lutharo) is still an absolute beast, keeping the throttle fully planted into the ground the entire time in a seemingly endless attack of double-bass thunder.

But what has always separated Crimson Shadows from similar acts is the dual vocal attack of Jimi Maltais and Ryan Hofing. Jimi’s harsh vocals sound scathing as ever, continuing to give the band much more of an edge about them than other bands of this ilk. On “Guardians,” he sounds like a goddamn berserker owlbear, ripping and tearing through enemy ranks with reckless abandon, hitting with a lethal range of highs, mids and lows that are as dynamic as they are utterly terrifying (seriously, I would not want this dude mad and screaming at me like this). But where you find maybe the most improvement from this unit is guitarist Ryan Hofing’s clean vocals. While they were never a weak point of the band, he has clearly spent time rounding out some of the edges to make for a more impressive and compelling delivery, and goddamn if they don’t make you want to sing along with every chorus, like glorious battle cries on the eve of certain impending doom. His performances on “Defenders of the Crown” and “Embrace the Fire” will fill your chest with pride and power, while Jimi goes all scorched Earth in a way that will spur you into a frenzy quicker than seeing the lit beacons of friggin’ Gondor. The combination is completely intoxicating.

I’ll also say, it’s always so satisfying when bands who’ve flown under the radar as much as Crimson Shadows has for so long, get some support from more heralded talent – even sweeter when it comes from fellow countrymen. In this case, guest appearances by Cryptopsy‘s Matt McGachy (“Whispers of War”) and Unleash the Archer‘s Brittney Slayes (“Secrets of Our Time”) give this album the extra sense of occasion it so desperately deserves. The former is one of the album’s true highlights, expertly riding the line of blistering brutality and soaring, epic vitality. It is every bit the proverbial “makes you wanna run through a brick wall” song, which this album has NO shortage of. Perhaps none go harder than the amazingly titled “Battle Hard II: Battle Harder,” a follow-up to a fan-favorite from their debut album in 2012, one that delivers everything longtime fans could ever want from this song: a beautiful, epic piano and guitar intro, that gives way to a friggin’ FURY of blast beats and finger-shredding riffs that will whip the entire Earth into one giant mosh pit if given enough amplification. Not only is it an instant classic for the band, but it brings in a bottom-third of the album that is strong as any I’ve heard in quite some time, including Brittney Slayes’ fantastic cameo on the dynamic “Secrets of Our Time,” which features a surprising and totally fucking rad old-school metal riff halfway through the song that catches you completely by surprise, but also gives you an instant stank-face with approval.

In reality, there are no drastic changes or big sweeping surprises here. If you loved Kings Amongst Men, goddamn are you gonna love this one. If you’re new to this band, goddamn are you gonna love Whispers of War. Then go back and listen to Kings Amongst Men and fall in love with that album. THEN go back and listen to Glory on the Battlefield and start to wonder “how the fuck has this band not become a bigger thing by now?” because I can’t figure it out, either. It makes no sense. This band is too talented and, most importantly, too goddamn fun not to force their way into every single metal heart on the planet. So quit fooling around and get your hands on this one ASAP, and join the goddamn battle. We are so back, baby, and so is Crimson Shadows. FIGHT ON!

The brief “Wing Chun” intro is beautifully constructed to Asian stylized music of yore, then right into “Black Sefirot”. This song has a great bass guitar opening sequence and the sounds accompanying it are magical sounding. The music gets into a gallop with scorching guitar solos and Alex Sciortino and Ray DeTone provide a great guitar duo indeed. Alex can reach those high vocals like you would not believe. He is incredible. Check out the highs as he screams the song title. The music while sounding fresh, really pulls from 80’s power metal in many ways. Definitely Iron Maiden and Helloween are some major influences on this act. This is a fun song to open the album with. The production is not overly produced and has an excellent organic feel to it.

The title track has a great opening drum segment that gets faster as Hal Aponte helps tie in the rhythm section. He’s originally from Long Island’s Cold Steel – talk about a blast from the past, from my neck of the woods. Another big surprise with this band you might be unaware of is John Gallagher from UK’s long time running Raven is the band’s bassist as well as providing vocals too. He is terrific on this and towards the end of this fast power metal song the guitar solos kick ass alongside some ruthless drum rolls, then back into the galloping.

“Craze of the Vampire” packs a crash-bang wallop with the opening guitar segment. It’s melodious and so damn catchy. The song gets into a great 80’s metal gallop with those power metal moments as well as the vocal tracks. There is some killer bass guitar playing and strumming going on all over this song, and the song takes on a jam session sequence for a bit where the isolated bass guitar comes rolling in and more guitar solos erupt. The excellent vocals return towards the end of the track and I like how the band ends this song.

“Frozen Solid” sounds like it was lifted from 1985 with the soaring guitar riffs and terrific, slower-paced moments. The sounds on this album also have an influence from Manilla Road as well as Omen. I notice some Battle Cry moments from Omen’s classic debut. The song then kicks things up a notch with the gallop and the 2.46 drum rolls, then right into the power metall-y faster moments, more like speed metal, really reminds me of King Diamond to some degree. Excellent guitar solos and the song continues in the speed metal pattern until the end of the song. SOOOOOOOO killer!!!

Chasing the Dragon is such a killer power metal album and as great as their debut was this bests it. The harmonies, melodies, and song structures push this album into the stratosphere. So catchy, and Helms Deep truly knows how to deliver great music and song writing. Hopefully, the band gets to tour and showcase their skillset and bring this music more to the masses.

Armed with a label, Stormspell Records, known for their high quality output of classic and power metal bands, Cryptic Halo is one helluva debut album.  If you did not look this band up, you would think this band hails from either England, Germany, or Sweden.  Countries known quite well for power metal bands.

Nine songs in 45 minutes, “Futile Invocation of Cosmic Acknowledgement” begins the album and is a short instrumental, which works well with how it’s produced, and as it builds to a crescendo, look out as “Rise” starts things off.  One of the things noticeable on this debut album is a greater emphasis on the leaning towards thrash metal.  The riffs are meatier and thicker, all interwoven with the main power metal structures and choruses.  The galloping beginning is heavy power metal.  After the galloping, BOOM!!! Right into a blast beat.  It’s pretty killer and Alonso “Zo” Donoso once again showcasing his various vocal tones and talents as he has a steadfast power metal voice.  Cody Johns has improved exponentially since the ep as his technique is tighter and well, he is faster, overall, adding the extra bit of intensity.  Jump ahead on this song to the 3.50 mark to hear those ruthless blast beats.  Shit, he’s tighter then a lot of death metal drummers, come to think of it.  Ian Bender’s bass guitar is well mixed in as you can hear his string plucking clearly.  Shaun Cothron/Max Otworth Guitars, really have crafted killer riffs.  This song is monstrous.

“Salvation Denied” gives you no rest, getting right into a brutal blast beat with soaring aria style power metal vocals with some layering effects as well.  Excellent.  The 1.20 galloping thrashy heaviness has Alonso using a deeper tone to coincide with the heavier underbelly of this song.  Between the time signature changes, the guitar melodies, blasts and solos, this song is frickin’ intense.  It’s rare that power metal bands are called intense.  When I think of some bands, Pathfinder comes to mind, with how they constructed their power metal, however, also incorporating striking blast beats.

“Everlasting Legacy” is slower paced, with some drumming moments, incorporating some poly-rhythmics.  The song pics up to a slightly quicker gallop and these guitar melodies are a thing of beauty as is this rhythm section.  It moves and gels like the band has been playing together for decades.  Some of the high vocal tones give me King Diamond chills, they are done rather well.  The King would be proud, if he heard this band.

“Dreamchaser”, at over seven minutes, is the longest song and incorporates all the great elements Prehistoria does so well.  There are some very catchy guitar riffs and sweeps going on.  Excellent vocals and the drumming hits hard on this one.  Excellent song to end the album.  Very strong.

Prehistoria have crafted a very memorable and heavy power metal debut album with Cryptic Halo. Song writing and musicianship is top notch, and most of all this is catchy.  You know the only real knock, if there is one, is that there are a lot of vocals on this album, on each song.  Sometimes you have to let the music breathe a little during certain sections, without vocals.  Other than that, this is excellently mixed and produced.  Awesome debut!

Holy shit, not only were these guys fast as a fucking shark; they were from Germany which was even cooler because back then the Cold War was still going on and Germany had this air of mystery and intrigue to it. I give all credit to Helloween because without them I never would have heard Kreator and Destruction, thus only feeding my growing hunger for Teutonic Thrash.

Now as far as live albums go, I covered Amorphis and their “live” Tales From The Thousand Lakes album recently and was less than thrilled with the “live” claim. Hearing the crowd and the band interaction is the heart of a great live album. Judas Priest did it with Priest…Live, King Diamond’s Abigail… Live 1987 is considered a classic for me, and I can’t leave out Iron Maiden and KISS.

Six live albums later Helloween have come back with a seventh and I’m here to tell you constant reader, it’s a beast. Four discs if you get the physical copy, there’s also a live video so that you can get the full experience of playing both at the same time for total aggressive immersion.

This is a career spanning experience kicking off with opening intro “Orbit” and once that’s out of the way it’s time for the 12:51 minute epic “Skyfall”. Maybe it’s about the James Bond movie, maybe it’s not; it doesn’t matter because it’s such a killer song. They smack right into a blistering rendition of “Eagle Fly Free” Michael Kiske sounds phenomenal as does Kai Hansen on “Kai’s Medley”, 16:07 minutes of a dive into the bands early albums so we get bites of “Savage” and “Ride the Sky” to name two.

I’m going to get it out of the way, just get it off my chest, this is an enjoyable in the moment live album. You’re literally there, listening (or watching) and cheering along with the Nippon Budokhan crowd. There’s a banter between Kiske, Andi Deris and Hansen that shows how current and former vocalists can share a stage and be friends with each other.

The production and mastering work is godly, each and every instrument stands out; especially the triple guitar attack from Michael Weikath, Kai Hansen, and Sascha Gerstner is just fucking massive. Slashing their way through “Mass Pollution” and “Future World” you can actually hear the crowd singing along; a sold-out crowd I might add.

There’s even a ballad thrown in with a funny introduction and “Forever and One (Neverland)” takes control. I would’ve liked to hear “A Tale that Wasn’t Right” from Keeper of the Seven Keys part 1; but whatever it’s the only slowdown that happens on an otherwise magnificent Power Metal album. Helloween are Power Metal, period.

After the ballad they blow through the rocking hard “Best Time”, “Dr. Stein” from Keeper of the Seven Keys part 2 and “How Many Tears” from Walls of Jericho. Having to pick songs out of such a fantastic back catalog must’ve been a great undertaking, but the show flows with hot blooded intensity; each song bringing more and more nostalgia for the glory days of German Power Metal.

“Keeper of the Seven Keys” gets a 20:46 minute rendition that’s captivating. “Perfect Gentleman”, and “I Want Out” round out the last of the album; “I Want Out” is by far one of my favorite Helloween songs; among others obviously but that riffing is absolutely hypnotic.

Alright, this album kicks ass; if that wasn’t apparent enough. If you love Power Metal, if you love Helloween (and the offshoot from them, the mighty Gamma Ray) then this is the album (and Blu-ray) for you! Hoch lebe Power Metal!

It’s not a secret that I love all things Sword and Sandal movies. Conan the Barbarian being the best, top fucking tier hack and slash cinema. Beastmaster, Red Sonja, Sorceress, titties and blood and vengeance oh my, I eat that shit up. So when fellow scribe Frank Rini suggested Krilloan and I read their description I needed it in my life.

Return Of The Heralds is the follow-up to 2022s Emperor Rising (which I’m going to have to check out toot sweet), and it’s a powerhouse of a Swedish Power Metal album. Opening with the soaring and just downright majestic “Atlantian Sword” and it didn’t take long to hook me into the whirlwind of magical riffs and shredding solos. As a matter of fact my head didn’t stop banging for the remainder of the album, it’s that fucking good.

“Kings of the Iron Hill” thrashes away like the giant snake in Conan the Barbarian, sporting a menacing centerpiece that crawls before kicking into overdrive for the solo; it works devilishly well for the segue into “Blood & Fire (Born on a Battlefield)” which is without a doubt my favorite song on the album. It has the theme from Conan worked into the fucking solo! How goddamn cool is that, constant reader?

Return Of The Heralds has a thick, yet perfectly curated production that aims to slay everything in It’s 1,000 HP path. I always check out the for fans of section, this one mentions Blind Guardian, but it doesn’t mention Demons and Wizards or Running Wild (who are all over “The Oathpact” and “Return of the Heralds”) then  the Hammerfall heavy as Mjolnir “Hammer of Wrath” and festival ready “Avenging Son”.

All this is happening in the Conan universe and it’s entertaining as fuck, “The KingKillers Tale” no Thrash here and it’s my second favorite track, ominous as it tells the story in a more Baroque manner; it’s a gorgeous song.

“We Burn” and “Beyond the Gates” round out the album in the best possible way, both being insane riff-fests and when you have guest appearances by Johan Haraldsson & Johan Karlsson (Evermore), Jack Reynolds & Tom O´Dell (Battle Born) and Magnus Holmström (Swedish folk master and HammerFall live guest), you know it’s going to be a beast.

I mentioned before about the for fans of and I want to also add the Helloween tendrils that infect “Kings of the Iron Hill”, I cannot say get it enough times…  So, there you go. Definitely a recommendation.

I’ve been a fan of the band since 2017s Stonehymn, where they really locked into the whole Dwarven metal persona, costumes, and themes.  Since then, they have been one of the consistently excellent power metal bands around, arguably peaking with the watershed cover song, “Diggy Diggy Hole” from 2019s Wintersaga.

Right off the bat, the album is the shortest the band has released coming in at 42 minutes, and it feels like the band has trimmed some fat and shortened the average length of the songs. But still at play is the band’s beefier take on keyboard-heavy, Power Metal, with a Dwarven girthy-ness , rather than a more wispy, elvish tone.  And it’s still catchy as hell, with eight hammer-swinging anthems befitting the halls of Khazad-dȗm in its glory days.

After the intro, the first track “Dance of the Axes”, is a perfect mood-setting opening number with a galloping pace and epic chorus. But it’s the next track “The Great Feast Underground” where the album really takes off with a boozy, raucous romp that Alestorm would be proud of.

Then the album hits a sort of familiar territory lull as the next few songs, are good Wind Rose songs, but there is definitely a drop-off from the opening two songs, and nothing quite gets the blood pumping. “Rock and Stone”, is a bit repetitive, and seems to have some all too familiar refrains and riffs from prior albums and songs. The same with “To Be A Dwarf” the title track and “Legacy of the Forge” but they are still pretty fun tracks. Just not next level, like every track on Warfront was.

Closer “No More Sorrow” finally gets back to truly superb songcraft with a moody, darker pace and gait, though not quite as somber as “Tomorrow Has Come” from Warfront. It shows the band can change things up just a bit (i.e there’s a different vocal pitch in the chorus), and be still effectively ‘Dwarven’.

Ultimately, despite a few good songs, Trollslayer is a bit of a drop of from Warfront, but still a solid Wind Rose album nonetheless.

13 has always been my lucky number. Spooky, I know, but when you’re a band who has consistently unleashed great Power Metal albums since forming in 1993, by now you know what works and what doesn’t.

I recently saw Hammerfall with Kamelot and they were fucking amazing, my first time seeing both bands and it was a crazy fun show. Fortunately for me they played like, three songs off Avenge the Fallen so going into the album I was already familiar with those tracks.

“Avenge the Fallen” is the opener and it comes out swinging, the chorus is fucking huge, no matter the venue, I saw them at a theater in Albuquerque and they played like they were at a festival; the same way Dragonforce did when they played the same venue in 2019. Big riffs, a chorus to die for and that’s where we’re at with Hammerfall in 2024. Continuing their legacy in the best way possible.

They thrash hard on “the End Justifies”  get riled up to celebrate “Freedom” and then there’s “Hail to the King” which is my second favorite track after “the End Justifies”. It makes you feel good, shouting the chorus at the top of your ragged lungs.

This album has some surprises up It’s sleeves “Hero to All” is another flag waving festival track, it’s bombastic and triumphant, with gang vocals galore. They get emotional and romantic on “Hope Springs Eternal” a slowed down groover, almost suitable for dancing with the one you love.

But then comes the heavy again with the very Judas Priest-ish “Burn It Down” they continue in that vein with the striding “Capture the Dream” and then, just to fucking do it, they go Iron Maiden with “Rise of Evil” which actually will satisfy that 80s itch perfectly. “Time Immemorial” is the closer that Avenge the Fallen needs, it’s got so many hooks it would make a fisherman jealous and it’s got enough incentive to make you hit play again when it ends.

Avenge the Fallen is a great Hammerfall album. How it’ll be remembered out of their catalog is a story yet to be told. On album Thirteen Hammerfall continue to bring Swedish Power Metal to the salivating masses. Get this now, not later.

This is a ass-kicker, fast when it needs to be and harmonious till the bitter end. I’m guessing that this was recorded in a castle with dragons fighting overhead, it’s aggressive from the get-go with “Call of Shadows” an ode to everything fantastical and mythic, with galloping drums and stellar solos rip through the eardrums with savage power.

This attack continues with “Broken Mirror” another thrasher that’s built around these mind-melting riffs and pummeling drums. They get all hopeful and uplifting on “Shine” and once again I’m struck by this musical juxtaposition of Brutal Death Metal and Power Metal. This is a very PG album, which doesn’t take away from what Shadows of Steel have created.

I’d like to take a small minute and talk about the artwork… um, it’s not good. Which reaches into the larger issue of AI and the apparent threat it poses to ‘real’ artists. That’s neither here nor there, but my point is that it’s easy to have good album art; everyone knows someone who can draw, or get a subscription to an AI app and do it that way. I’m sorry, guys. It’s not fitting the music contained on the album and that’s my only gripe.

After “Shine” is the current single “Power of Dreams” and it’s another full throttle riff-fest, it’s a nice centerpiece until yawner “Crystal” it’s obvious filler (hopefully) like “A Tale that Wasn’t Right” from Helloween’s Keeper of the Seven Keys part 1. It harshes the buzz, if you will.

Not all is lost as “Search for the Truth” comes in on slight keys before erupting into a Power Metal savior with silver wings. “Symphony” is the longest track at 7:08 but Shadows of Steel put everything into this one song;  maniacal riffs and shredding solos assault the eardrums, combined with the drums, it really does make for a mammoth sized, and what should have been the final track… but it’s not.

Instead of the end of the album, they decided to tack on five cover songs. I didn’t listen to them, well not all the way through, I skimmed them. Here they are in case you want to know:

“Angel Witch” (Angel Witch cover)  03:52

9. “The Beauty and The Beast” (Stormwitch cover) 04:08
10. “Dark Nights” (Heavy Load cover) 03:56
11. “Shadow Thief” (Jag Panzer cover) 05:35
12. “Heavy Demons” (Death SS cover) 04:06

It is what it is. As far as the original music goes, Shadows of Steel have definite chops going on with Twilight II. Suitable for all your Power Metal head banging needs.

If you like Symphony X, Dragonforce, and Helloween (Gamma Ray too, just for shits and giggles) also the bands that were covered to boot. Then this release is right up your tree. Get it!

I’m not here to talk about Helloween, I’m here to talk about Mad Hatter and their brand spanking new album Oneironautics. It was recommended by one of my fellow scribes and I assure you that after listening to blasting, blasting, blergh, blergh it’s refreshing to hear clean, powerful vocals. I can also assure you that this is 100% pure SWEDISH POWER METAL! Okay, I’ll settle down, but just a little bit. Ohm…

What we have here are ten tracks of bat-shit crazy, incredibly enjoyable Power Metal: Dragons, Witches and “fighting the fighters!” it starts with the psychotic instrumental title track that acts like a gathered Elven army about to fuck shit up. It barrels into “Lord of Dragons”. This is where the aforementioned chorus comes from “We will fight the Dragon Lord supreeeeeeme!” it’s a rousing song that demands headbanging. A balancing of Helloween and Gamma Ray (even if they are technically the same band… just saying.) But they’re German and Mad Hatter is Swedish and so there are some Hammerfall style flag waving choruses thrown in for good measure.

“Death in Wonderland” and “I Will Find My Way” are both raging double bass-fueled bangers, with solos that reach to the Pillars of Creation and dive bomb into the ocean depths. Sanguine riffs that get you wet from the blood splashing from your enemies.

But then there’s my favorite song, a bonkers bouncy castle of fun that comes in the package of “The Witches of Blue Hill” it swings like a corpse in a gibbet with the frenetic finger-breaking riffs and possibly the most polka-ish polka that ever was in the middle of a song, let alone a Power Metal song, and I fucking love it. It has moxie and tons of heart and compliments “Our Fears in Towe” which is a not quite ballad, just decidedly slower than the songs around it. It has some huge riffs and is one of those festival songs where the crowd knows every word and the girls are free with their booby flashing.

Production is top-notch letting each instrument shine without being overpowering. “Lost in Wonder” is another sort of reflection pool track not quite a ballad but not a full-throttle scorcher, that’s reserved for “The King’s Guide” galloping towards the “Temple of Time” a Kamelot-style rumbler with guitar histrionics galore, and it all culminates with final track “Fire in My Heart” a nuclear powered send off with a hell for leather, racing guitar riffs and more of those by now patented solos where your heart just soars.

Oneironautics is a perfect summer album, it has so much hope and heart and insanely fun moments going on that fans of Helloween, Kamelot, and  Hammerfall will feel right at home. I recommend this for your next D&D session or dragon attack on a helpless village. Whichever comes first.

Suffice it to say with the sheer amount of albums Sonata Arctica has released, they have had their fair share of albums with fair to middling production qualities, as well as the music, just there, lacking the power of their earlier releases.  But when I popped in this promo, I was thoroughly impressed and this has 10 songs in 51 minutes and the physical edition contains 12 songs in an hour.

“First in Line” starts with some breathtaking atmosphere and drums before blasting along with their fast power metal equipped with multi-layered keyboards of Tony Kakko, their original vocalist is nailing all the different tones and he has well…a power metal voice, reminding me of early Scanner, out of Germany.  The chorus is exceptionally crafted and catchy and at this point, I am a fan.  Power Metal always gets me in a happy and excited mood and I am a fan of fast-moving power metal, not the slower kinds of bands.  So when I compare this album opener with past Sonata Arctica songs this definitely harkens back to their earlier releases and the guitar soloing going on is great and the varying keyboards are prominent and are all over the place.  Talk about a bombastic album opener.  So much fun.

“California” is up next and you cannot catch your breath and maybe many of you longtime fans were expecting the band to slide into a slower song, but the band said hell no and this is another fast song with the dizzying keyboards, almost played as a guitar and the guitar riffing is most excellent and catchy.  This song moves pretty fast and I can imagine circle pits all damn day.  The guitar soloing going on at the 2.10 mark is killer with the keyboards piped higher alongside those solos – pretty wild.  Again, the band seems intent on erasing or rather I should say, intent on showing their fanbase they are back to reclaim their true power metal glory.  “Shah Mat” is up next and again is a fast galloping number, a tad slower than the previous two songs, but still a fast song with a great galloping type of old-school speed.  Bombastic atmosphere and effect at the 2.10 mark with soaring aria vocals as well, so it almost sounds like this could be in a Disney movie..  The song slows down and then picks up the gallop once again.

“Cure for Everything” has varying tempo shifts, speedy, slower, and killer guitar solos and keys as the song picks up the pace alongside those excellent vocals.   The rest of the album does contain some of those progressive and slower elements, which have been more prominent on many of their prior albums, however lucky for us those moments take a back seat on this album.  Rather than closing out with a bang, like how the album opener came out the gates and did not let up, the title track ends the albums, slower, with acoustic elements and it’s a good ending overall, but ends with a more melancholic approach.

Clear Cold Beyond has a great album cover painting with the band’s epic band logo and the colors and new age type of cover with the snow-drenched mountains and frozen waterfall is quite a nice painting to look at.  Without having any prior experience with past Sonata Arctica albums, except for going back after listening to this, and checking those releases out, it’s clear as day Clear Cold Beyond captures the band’s former glory of their earlier years with really pressing on that gas pedal and creating many fast and quick paced power metal anthems without forgoing any quality, because this band has quite a lot of talent.  The production qualities are also terrific.  This is a rockin’ power metal album that will certainly please many of their older fans and maybe bring those fans back into the fold if they had given up on the band..

Of course, the hunt was on, and I found myself soon owning the albums they had at the time and enjoying them thoroughly. What I didn’t at first know is that they’re labeled Christian progressive power metal. Sometimes it’s overt, and most of the time it isn’t, but it’s creator Matt Smith’s music and his focus is on making brilliant songs.

Maybe it’s because I just (unashamedly) saw Bullet for My Valentine live recently, but the beginning of the first track, “Flicker,”  sounds like something a screamo/metalcore band like them would do in the intro. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it doesn’t properly set the stage. This is one of the shorter songs, but has a killer hook and power metal gallop. Of course, the solo is also majestic.

Matt is quite the riff… Smith. He proves it with the heavier opening to “Sinsidious (The Dogs of War). It’s not death metal, but that might only be because of the cleaner tone. Power metal thrives on choruses and battle scenes ending in triumph, but also the ability to make a statement. In the lyrics, Theocracy does exactly that and I’m happy they have. Slightly over 4 minutes into the track, a groove, calling back to the opening riff comes in, which segues into an epic solo.

If you want your ballad, it comes in the form of “The Greatest Hope.” Some may call it a palate cleanser as it serves very little purpose other than a reprieve, but it’s certainly no throwaway.

The last track is what makes this album’s runtime so long, as it’s over 19 minutes.  Is it a good song? Yes. Should it be 19 minutes? You know that answer. While there are some excellent moments, it often comes off as meandering. It must be said. It doesn’t take away from the overall, but I would expect some to skip it.

As soon as I saw the runtime on this at over 1 hour, I knew I’d probably complain. However, I have no issue. As someone who jokingly refers to himself as a writer, it pleases me to be able to bring new music to others or show some bands about which I’ve known and think the rest of the community should. Theocracy is one of those bands, and I would say Mosaic is a great place to start if you’re into the style. This is another stellar entry into their catalog, which deserves to be held in much higher esteem when the best current power metal bands are ranked.

But in my mind, 2020 produced two clear front runners for the crown. One came as no surprise with the seemingly un-fuck-with-able Eternal Champion, and the other? A Swiss dark horse with enough energy and power to go toe-to-to, round-for-round with the best of the best: Megaton Sword, and their superb album Blood Hails Steel, Steel Hails Fire.

On that album, the band’s penchant for creating super punchy, upbeat riffs, along with Uzzy Unchained’s all-in approach to his vocal work, came together to make a thoroughly engaging and satisfying listen that inspired you to find the nearest sword, don a horned helmet, and sing along with righteous glee on every track. There was a palpable, infectious energy that carried you along through the duration of the record that ultimately left you satisfied, but still wanting even more of that fun in your life – and three years later the band has returned to do just that with Might & Power, picking up right where they left off, but with an even greater sense of confidence. Oh yes, my friends: Megaton Sword ain’t backing down from this fight.

One thing seems immediately for certain on Might & Power, Megaton Sword are focusing good and hard on the more sort of swaggering, first-bumping anthems that instantly grow some hair on your barely-covered chest. Right off the bat, you’re treated with an absolute banger in “The Raving Light of Day,” a rumbling, bravado-filled foray of great, head banging riffs, and a chorus you’ll pick up on first listen, courtesy of of Uzzy’s notably-improved vocals that are every bit as compelling as anything you’ve ever heard from Dio or Dickenson (to be clear, I’m not putting him on the same pedestal as those legends, I simply mean that his vocal performances are super endearing).

While we’re on the subject of anthems, “Power” may be the best early contender for Heavy Metal anthem of the year – featuring not only one of the band’s best riffs they’ve recorded to date, but also showcases the full scope of the entire band’s capabilities. For one – Uzzy takes his vocals all over the map here,  really channeling a wide range of emotions and techniques to put forth a dynamic performance unlike anything he’s really done to this point. Matching his mix of nuance and power are guitarists Chris “The Axe” and Seth Angel who lay down riffs here that would go toe-to-toe with anything found in Eternal Champion’s repertoire. We’re talking a truly glorious, stomping effort the likes of which you’d march to war with – banners raised high and fears tossed aside as the rhythm compels you to march forward towards the enemy line.

The band also still knows how to lay the throttle down and high it into high gear when they want things to get even more rowdy. “Iron Plains” gallops along with that similar Heavy-Metal-Meets-Bolt-Thrower rumble that sounds like a thousand horsemen storming the battlefield backed by a battalion of Sherman tanks (and now that I think about it, what an appropriate song title, right??). It’s a fantastically emboldening and vigorous sound that gets your blood pumping, and that’s before the band breaks out a blast beat section that, if a circle pit hasn’t opened up to that point of the song, will get the maelstrom of humanity going with a force capable of sucking every living thing in its path to the depths of the general admission floor.

“Cowards Remain” even hits with an almost D-Beat barrage that transports you right into the middle of the battle – but the best part by far is the cow bell-backed bridge and solo that is almost just too perfect for words. I don’t even give a frig how much a cliche this is… MORE COWBELL! It’s such a fantastic compliment to what Megaton Sword are laying down on this album, I just want more of it.

But the band is truly at its best when they’re putting the two parts together, giving you the best of both worlds on tracks like “Might” which leads the charge with a speedy, early Hammerfall or Helloween-like pace, before switching to that super punchy, hammer-like march that you could set railroad spikes to.

“All Wicked Schemes Unite” pulls a similar trick, albeit with a bit more of a mid-paced double-bass rumble carrying the verses that would (and should!) put a crick in your neck, especially during the song’s  back half that sees the band break things down briefly to acoustic guitars, before building to an epic-as-hell crescendo that makes for one of the band’s stronger, more impressive tracks to date.

It’s also clear the band was much more willing to take a few chances on Might & Power – and it’s clear to this listener that the gambles have paid off. “Raikaszi” is one of the more emotionally-charged songs the band have ever created, landing on the fringes of ballad territory while still offering a heavy, swaggering riff throughout the track that shows that even through the band’s more introspective moments, they’re still not about to put the sword down and take things easy.

Still, the moodier tone is such a nice change that helps make Might & Power a much deeper and nuanced album than their excellent full length debut was, and “Babe Eternal,” the record’s swansong track, slams this point home – starting with a truly moving piano intro that, once again, gives Uzzy a great chance to show off the work he’s clearly done to improve his vocals, reaching into that bag of feels he’s been cultivating and pulling out some really sincere vocals that, over the course of the song, sound more and more pained and worn down by a life of struggle and survival. When the guitars come in and the piano still persists, it gives Megaton Sword an almost Queen-like, theatrical quality that just shows another wrinkle the band have thrown into the mix successfully, and makes for a great ending to what is a really really good Heavy Metal record.

So – the next punch has been thrown, and Megaton Sword have not pulled back one bit. If anything, they’ve proven to be a much deeper, more well-rounded force than many of their Heavy Metal heavyweights, and they’ll no doubt have their hands on or near the Heavy Metal throne for some time to come. Sophomore efforts are always super important to a band’s overall success, and Megaton Sword have met the challenge with complete gusto. Get your hands on Might & Power and raise the banner for this excellent band as soon as you can.

The premise of Dragoncorpse is a melding of standard deathcore with all its tropes- breakdowns, dual vocals etc , but with a heavy dose of power metal symphonics (courtesy of Dale Urban from solid symphonic tech-death outfit Mortem Obscuram) and grandiosity and notably soaring power metal vocals from Mardy Leith, who is also responsible for the band’s considerably entertaining online presence.

Now, the three killer singles they already released, “From The Sky”,”Terror Eternal”  and “Blood and Stone”, are the clear centerpieces of this 9-track saga, with “From the Sky” being the best and most indicative display of the band’s style with its fierce pace, epic chorus and anime driven video below.  When it is rendered this effectively, it’s gleefully fun as all get out. Leith has an impressive set of pipes, and honestly could front any number of power metal band’s alone. His growls are also powerful and commanding.

The other two singles are solid,  with the urgent “Blood and Stone” and more restrained “Terror Eternal” (with Dragonland’s Jesse Lindskog) delivering on the promise of the band’s ambitious premise, and despite the band’s online presence, being impressively serious, with no hint of being a joke or gimmick band.

So that leaves basically 2 other songs on the EP that are ‘new’; Opener “Sunlover” (with Brojob’s Jacob Wallace), which is the EPs other highlight along with “From the Sky”, and has a glorious, swaying little chorus. Then there is closer “Undying”, a slightly more contemplative track to end the EPs story.

The only downside for me is the 4 interludes, which deliver a growled spoken voice from Leith narrating the EP’s fantasy/dragon-based saga over some orchestration, and it misses a little. I think time would have been better spent delivering another new song or two.

However, there is no denying Dragoncorpse is onto something and certainly, a lot more than a gimmick act with little musical merit (I’m looking at you Brojob) considering the chops often on display in both genres they are playing here.

What I’m trying to say is that there are only a few power metal bands I truly enjoy, and one of them is Sweden’s Twilight Force. Heck, 2019s Dawn of the Dragonstar made my year-end list, an impressive feat indeed.

As I have said in prior reviews of these guys, this is utterly over the top, uber cheesy, synth-filled, elf-filled, dragon-filled silliness that makes bands like Rhapsody of Fire/ Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody (Twilight Force vocalist Alessandro Conti used to be in the latter) look downright serious with expected songs about crystals, wizards, arcane magic, and of course dragons, and other high fantasy tropes. And I love it.

The formula is the same as every Twilight Force album, and as with the last two in particular things seem even bigger, even more choral (with Swedish Opera star Kristen Starkey heavily featured here), even more, orchestral, etc, etc, as the Twilight Warriors weave their tales of the Twilight Kingdoms from across the centuries.

Like Dawn of the Dragonstar, which started with “Dawn of the Dragonstar”, “Thundersword”, and “Long Live the King” ( arguably my favorite song by these guys) At the Heart of Wintervale comes out of the gate strong with “Twilight Force”, “At the Heart of Wintervale”, and “Dragonborn”, three super catchy, epic, energetic, galloping numbers that show what the band does best, especially some of the increased choral arrangements, and when they do songs like this, it will bring a smile to your face. Though I was a little disappointed the super commercial “Dragonborn” wasn’t the band’s take on the Skyrim song.

Two other solid tracks “Skyknights of Aldaria” and “Sunlight Knight” are equally cheesy and somehow even more, epically bombastic, with “Sunlight Knight” being particularly, enjoyably over the top, even with its weird little Jamaican/steel drum refrain.

While Dragonstar had a 12-minute closing song “Blade of Immortal Steel”, this album has two 10+ minute numbers in “Highlands of the Elder Dragon” and the dramatic closer “The Last Crystal Bearer”, and they are both a little more jumbled and seem more vested in cinematic/Broadway styled storytelling ( there are characters and spoken parts, etc), and doing a little too much.  Twilight Force‘s brand of music is just a little easier to digest in 4-6 minute chunks. That said, “Highlands of the Elder Dragon” has a fucking glorious little choral/orchestral burst about 2 minutes in and the same 6 minutes in for “The Last Crystal Bearer”.

Like Dawn of the Dragonstar, there is a bonus, gorgeous digibook version of the album. This one comes with three extra tracks: an acoustic medley covering the band’s past songs which fans will recognize and enjoy, and orchestral versions of ” Skyknights of Aldaria” and “The Last Crystal Bearer”.

When it’s all said and done, I think At the Heart of Wintervale, while entertaining as heck, is not quite as good as Dragonstar. For all its epic bombast, there are no songs like “Thundersword” or “Long Live the King”, that truly stand out and stick with you. But still, these guys are still absolutely one of the very best and most wondrously epic bands in power metal.

Firstly, this album is a progression from their other work, which is not to discount it. However, it’s so well done that it feels like this is the top of the mountain for which they were reaching. It’s a concept album with an underlying story, but each song also stands well on its own, even the ones that are meant to be together.

The opener, “Euphoric Parasitism,” does an excellent job of setting the stage with a characteristically slow build. The song basically stops on a dime and changes a little more than 2 minutes in. I must admit that every time vocalist John Yelland sings the line “my body’s withered like an old fruit rotting,” I expect and hope he says “Fruit Roll-Up.” He doesn’t, but that might be the only letdown. The chorus is excellent, and the key flourishes in the background blend seamlessly.

I wanted to mention track 2, the title track here, but cut that part out, which I saw coming early on.

However, what I did not see coming is track 4, “Daughter of Swords,” with its blasting, squeals, and almost tech death opening. Upon the first listen, I looked down at my iPod (make fun of the old guy, you fucks) and wondered if I somehow started another album. Once the heavy main riff comes in, it still sounds slightly like a different band, almost like Dream Theater’s Train of Thought. Cheesy as it may be (this is power metal after all), this is the best chorus SO FAR on the album.

This takes us to tracks 5 and 6, “Ursa Minor” and “Ursa Major.” If you couldn’t already tell this album is personal, the lyrics right in the beginning will hammer that home. The first part also is the first time the phrase “brother bear” is mentioned, and while it may sound lame at first, it’s clear this is meaningful. In the latter track, the repetition of the “brother bear” phrase is unexpectedly catchy and emotional.

Of course, the longest track is the last one, “Metamorphosis.” There are some great leads, some somber horns, and of course the lyrics to match. The heavy subject matter comes together here in all 9 minutes. It’s rare that a long, mid-paced power metal track is worth the time, but this one certainly is. It’s beautiful, especially those closing lines.

As I mentioned previously, I haven’t indulged in a lot of power metal this year, but Judicator might render any other exploration unnecessary. What the band has done is something I have always wanted from power metal. Sure, dragons, wizards, and yes Blind Guardian, we know you guys take a yearly sojourn to the real-life Middle Earth just to jack off. It’s weird, but it’s fine. Dedication to their craft and what not. What I really want is for it to be personal and emotional. In other words, I’m impressed, and expect this album to make several year-end lists. It’s their best work yet. Pony up some coin.

To that end, Warkings have made a nice little niche for themselves, going in-character to perform rousing songs involving military history – mostly focusing on Roman and Spartan themes, but sprinkling in some viking and crusader stuff as well (hence all their characters, The Tribune, The Spartan, The Crusader and, you guessed it, The Viking). While Warkings certainly fills the bill of “all-in” power metal we all here tend to love, they never quite got to that level of adoration we have for those previously mentioned acts. Solid, but just not with quite the staying power. But this new album, Morgana? Oh baby, these metal warmongers might be on to something, here.

So a couple things of note – first being, the band has recruited a mercenary into their ranks in the form of Morgana le Fay (voiced by German singer and voice actress, Secil Sen), Prince Arthur’s infamous witchy sister. Her addition on Morgana comes with a bit of ambiguity – is she a permanent member? Is this just a one-time kind of thing? WHO’S TO SAY?! I hope she’s sticking around for the long haul though, as her addition has adds a whole new dynamic to Warking‘s sound that takes it to another level. She adds both a clean to harmonize Georg Neuhauser’s soaring choruses, but primarily (and most notably) she adds a pretty great, raspy harsh vocal delivery that adds a sneering, sinister energy to the whole sound, helping to make for a much more interesting listen. And the band lets her presence be felt right off the bat – with “Hellfire” storming out of the gate with maybe the band’s most aggressive riff to date, and Morgana’s demonic vocals on full display. It actually hits more like a Melodeath track a la Arch Enemy or The Agonist than it does Power Metal, though when Neuhauser’s vocals enter the fray it certainly begins to lean in that direction. The contrast makes for a pleasant and dynamic listening experience, and the whole band seems more energized than every before, with guitarist Markus Pohl ripping out a truly great solo along the way as inspired as any he’s recorded before.

And indeed, many of the album’s most interesting tracks seem to be ones that heavily feature Morgana (She’s officially listed on only 5 of the album’s 10 tracks, two covers notwithstanding). “Heart of Rage” features some really cool, mesmerizing Middle Eastern accents and influences, and the clean duet between Morgana and The Tribune is truly a thing of beauty, catching you with an absolute earworm of a melody. Her last official credit on “Immortal” is a much darker, moodier track, which again features some great harmonized vocals during the chorus, while her seething harsh vocals continue to bite at the bone and give the track more of an edge.

Outside of the Morgana tracks, there’s a couple other notable gems, including “To The King,” which plays out like a modern day Amon Amarth track in it’s rousing, midpaced glory – complete with a chorus that will certainly be an absolute ball to sing along with live. While Warkings may still have a fairly simple, straightforward delivery, the band seems to be kicking it into a higher gear this time around. To that end, “Last of the English,” quite simply, SLAPS. Like “Hellfire,” it shows off the band’s newfound sense of urgency and aggression, grabbing you by your tattered chain mail and demanding your attention before delivering a final, fatal blow. “Shame” taps into that famous scene from “Game of Thrones,” with an infectious, fun-to-follow “SHAME!” chant that, again, seems purpose-built for a hell of a good time through the band’s next festival circuit.

I hope Morgana stays a regular member of the band, but if not, I hope at least this opens the band up to bringing other characters into the mix down the road, because it really seems to have given the band an extra creative boost, making Morgana easily the band’s best effort. If you just want something fun that gets your fists pumping, this album will definitely do the trick. If you’ve passed on these guys in the past, go ahead and give this one a chance – you may be pleasantly surprised.

I’m not gonna get too specific, but I’ll tell you that outside of Teeth of the Divine, I don’t live a terribly exciting or spectacular life. I’m not “living my dream” or working some self-made passion project for a living. This isn’t a complaint, I have a steady job that I’m grateful for, but it’s not something that’s by any means definitive of who I am. And that’s fine! I save my passions for life outside of work (ergo, you find me here, doing this). But sometimes, you can’t help but look at the world around you and ask yourself, “what the hell am I doing with my life?”

Indeed, more and more it seems there’s not much you can’t make a life out of if you’re willing to work hard enough for it. Just look at YouTube! It’s full of folks doing all manner of shit and making a pretty dang good living off it. There’s a guy near me with 1.6 million subscribers who makes Unnecessary Inventions for a living. That’s literally the name of his business! Again, WHAT THE SHIT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE.

I don’t bring this up because I’m having some existential crisis (not today, at least). I bring it up because, if ever there was a band that embodied the notion of finding your niche and going at it full-bore, goddamn if it isn’t Germany’s Victorius, who are once again bringing their outrageous world of dino-fighting space ninjas to the masses with Dinosaur Warfare Pt.2 – The Great Ninja War, technically a follow-up to their 2018 EP Dinosaur Warfare – Legend of the Power Saurus, but immediately following their 2020 fever dream of an album, Space Ninjas from Hell. Which was about, uh, different ninjas? I think? Less laser dinos and more laser sharks, for sure…

WHAT. AM I DOING. WITH MY LIFE.

So like, I’m an unabashed Power metal fan. Give me all the cheesy hooks and bombast and crazy orchestral arrangements you can fit into an album. I’m all about it. Just don’t ask me to ever take it very seriously. The bands doing it best (Wind Rose, Brothers of Metal, Grailknights, to name a few) are the ones who are laughing the most and leaning into whatever their schtick happens to be the hardest – and there ain’t NOBODY leaning in harder than Victorius, who are still riding this bonkers-ass train of intergalactic assassin ninjas and weaponized dinosaurs that they’ve been conducting for around 4 years now. We’ve got songs about magic wooly mammoths, we’ve got puns and clever word play (“God of Roar”), we’ve got Jurassic gym rats! (“Triceps Ceratops.” For the love of everything good in this world make this a shirt and take my money). There’s a song called “Dinos and Dragons.” I don’t need to elaborate on this. DINOS AND DANG DRAGONS. Metal anthem of the century.

According to the band, the story of this album is actually bringing their two prior works together to create the final showdown between the Dinosaurs, who have risen and are led by the aforementioned “Mighty Magic Mammoth,” to defend humanity from the evil nuclear space ninjas known as the “Sunbladers.” Story as old as time, amiright? Anyway, this is still the super-speedy, all-out Dragonforce-styled Power Metal you know and either love or hate, although musically speaking, Victorius are certainly more restrained overall than many bands of this ilk. Modest, 3-4 minute average length on their songs, that still bring you all the guitar-and-keyboard dueling and sugar-fueled hooks you could ever possibly need, without the abundance overly self-fellating guitar solos and melodies that can make something like this exhausting. I want to bang my head to some nasty riffs and sing along to songs about epic dino battles, not listen to the audio equivalent of a dude masturbating in front of a mirror. Right out the gate , “Victorious Dinogods” delivers the goods, and the band keeps delivering time and time again over the album’s 12 tracks.

If I had to nitpick DW:PT2, and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this while listening to a song called “Jurassic Jetfighters,” I’d say that maybe it’s not quite as silly as it could be. On Space Ninjas, the bands used some very entertaining little vignettes – most notably the dad-joke-cracking sushi and wasabi on track “Wasabi Warmachine – that really just lent itself to the out-of-control lunacy of the album. Like I said earlier – if you’re gonna do it, go all-in to it. Fuck it. You live once. While DW:PT2 does include a couple little narrative passages, I do find myself wanting for more of those goofier moments. What they have again done well is remembering to add a little honest-to-goodness heft every now and again to at least somewhat balance out the sugar and caffeine overload. “Katana Kingdom Rising” is a plodding number more akin to a Sabaton or Dream Evil track, providing a nice break from the all-out sonic assault, and while “Tyrannosaurus Steel” and “Triceps Ceratops” get back on the throttle a bit, they both offer a little more grunt to their riffing that are both worthy of a good, solid head bang.

Look, I don’t know how much longer this fucking madness can last. Logic tells me that at some point, staying firm on the central theme of Dinosaurs and Ninjas just can’t be sustainable. But then again, Amon Amarth are still growling about vikings, Powerwolf are still a weird cabal of Christian(?) underworld werewolves, Gloryhammer are still mostly gross misogynists and racists (I’m not sure how just replacing the singer makes up for the rest of their bullshit, but whatever!). Point is, even the most absurd of schticks may have more lasting power than you’d think, and Victorius‘ brand of Power Metal is only bringing more fun into an otherwise bleak world. So go off, you glorious dorks! Keep the good times coming.

Enter the UK’s Fellowship, a newcomer to the genre with current and former members of Power Force and Rezinwolf, and a promising newcomer to the genre. And along with fellow, similarly cheesily fun brits Grimgotts, show the UK can roll a 20 and unleash the +5 puffy shirt of catchy choruses and be just as good as their Mainland Europe brethren.

From the opening twinkle of opener “Until the Fire Dies”, (as well as their promo photos and the above video) it’s 100% clear that Twilight Force is the primary influence here, and they are having a lot of fun with it. This is sparkling, light-hearted, uplifting power metal with lots of shredding, keyboards, and sugary choruses that will get in your head from one listen.

The guitars of Sam Browne Guitars and brad Wosko are front and center with lots and lots of extended bouncy leads and vocalist Matthew Corry, despite looking like the cool social studies professor you see at the coffees shop, has a unique set of pipes that alternates between a bit nasally for me, to really impressive when he truly belts something out (i.e “Glint”, “The Hours of Wintertime”). The keyboards are there and certainly a focal part of the music, but it’s not quite full-on choral or orchestral bombast like some of their peers.

The album’s 1 hour run time is a bit long, especially in the latter stages and it’s not all great, but along the way, the band hit on some truly infectious stuff like the aforementioned opener,  “Glory Days”, shred heavy “Oak & Ash”, the super goddam uplifting anthem of “Hearts Upon the Hill”, “Glint’, and gloriously uplifting “The Saint Beyond the River” which all absolutely got my heart soaring and my soul grinning. Or course there are slightly more restrained but still uplifting AOR/Prog numbers (“Atlas”, “The Hours of Wintertime”, “Still Enough”, closer “Avalon”) as well, and the requisite lighter waving ballad in “Silhouette”.

Now, where Fellowship is a shade different than their peers, is that rather than stories of high elves, wizards and questing, the overarching themes are positivity, mental health, and well-being, and a general sense of uplifting motivational amicability that’s infectious, and certainly in these dire times, a beacon of light we could all use right now.

I know, it sounds like I’m mocking you – but rest assured: the latter sounds like way more of a blast to me than going downtown. Replace the Mountain Dew with a six pack of beer and the gummies with a giant tub of peanut butter-filled pretzels, and I’m there, amigo. By the way, I’m team pineapple on pizza. Fight me.  I’m also bringing the soundtrack, courtesy of Colorado Power/Melodeath quartet Celestial Wizard, who are bringing nothing but good times and an epic blend of Power and Death Metal to the table. If Bal-Sagoth, Aether Realm, Starkill or  Wizardthrone tickle your fancy, then strap in and get ready for a heluva fun ride.

Where Celestial Wizard excels over those acts is in their absolute lack of pretension. From the friggin’ sweet throwback synthwave intro, to the DnD-themed “Ice Realm” which is, very literally, a song about playing a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, you know exactly what this band is all about, and they’re letting it all hang out there in its wonderful, goofy glory. That said, backing up all the fun is a collection of very serious musicians. Vocalist Amethyst Noir seamlessly transitions between a great, raspy sneer and a deep, robust cleans, occasionally busting out a high falsetto for dramatic effect. Their voice is a great accompaniment to the mix of fantastic melodies and leads laid down by guitarist Nick Daggers, whose playing at times brings up everyone from Arch Enemy and Dark Tranquillity, to Turisas and Ensiferum, and even some Hetfield-esque thrash riffage for good measure (see “Ice Realm” and “Cyberhawk” for a couple prime examples). With their work, along with the extremely solid backbone provided by Tim Gillman’s drumming holding it all together, the mix comes together for a really fun and epic fantasy-inspired romp just as capable of putting a smile on your face as it is melting it off completely.

In 2022 it should come as no surprise that Winds of the Cosmos sounds just about as good as any label-backed offering you’ll find, but extra credit is certainly given for this self-released album sounding as robust as it does. Credit to Nick Nodurft of Rusty Sun Audio in Colorado who was put in charge or producing and mixing this beast – some quick research isn’t popping up a ton of notable releases out of this studio, but it certainly deserves some attention. The guitars pack an appropriate punch that allow the excellent riffs on “Scourge” and fantastic guitar harmonies on “Undead Renegade” really shine, while Amethyst Noir’s vocals – whether they’re sneering, singing or growling – continue to sound crisp and clear, allowing the listener to really feel engaged with the songs and feel equally compelled to sing along, as one should want to do with Power Metal. You’ll also be air-guitaring like a lunatic, particularly on “Undead Renegade” with it’s righteous-as-fuck guitar/keyboard solo battle, of during “Steel Crysalis'” classic galloping that always bring more fun to the party.

This is a really easy album to love and an even easier band to root for. Serious chops, with a not-so-serious attitude, playing a brand of metal made for a good time. And it’s awesome to discover another queer voice to support and celebrate in Amethyst Noir, helping to make metal a more vibrant and inclusive place. What’s not to like?! Polish up those 20-sided dice, clear out a table in the basement, and get to raging with these wonderful wizards!

2019s Wintersaga brought us the youtube hit and earworm “Diggy Hole”, (sitting at 34 million views!) which really got the band some international attention. And now we finally have the follow-up, Warfront, and it might be the band’s finest hour yet.

Continuing the Dwarven themes (not just Tolkien dwarves mind you), Warfront is 1 intro and 9 songs of everything Wind Rose is good at, cranked to a higher level. Crunchy, beefy riffs, rousing, blood-pumping choruses, Francesco Cavalieri’s baritone, soaring yet uniquely dwarvish vocals, stirring keyboards, and yes- all of it about dwarves and their various hobbies like mining, fighting, etc. Though there certainly seems to be more of an emphasis on the war/fighting aspect.

And every single song is killer. After the intro, there simply isn’t a weak song at all. The energetic “Army of Stone” comes out of the gate strong with one of the album’s many earworm choruses, that simply get you going and replaying over and over again. This inevitably delays the next killer, upbeat song, “Tales of War”, and just shows how well these guys can put together a rousing sing-along chorus at every damn turn. And the thing is, these aren’t even the best choruses on the damn album! (more on that later).

“Fellows of the Hammer” deliver a stern, anvil pounding anthem before we get the album’s first two singles, the battle hymn, “Together We Rise” and the Warhammer universe themed,  “Gates of Ekrund” with yet another stellar, first pumping pre-chorus to march to war to and epic conclusion (and its equally epic video above). Then finally we get to “One Last Day”, my favorite song from the album, and possibly my favorite song the band has penned since “To Erebor” from Stonehymn (my introduction to the band). The chorus is just a goddamn perfect execution of catchy meets rousing meets metal.

Now, the next three songs reign things in a bit, not quite capturing the utter glorious-ness of some of the prior tracks, but no less enjoyable. We get the album’s longest cut, “The Battle of the Five Armies”, which is surprisingly restrained considering the epic Lord of the Rings subject matter, and another longer song in “I am the Mountain”. The album is rounded out by the ballad “Tomorrow Has Come”, which has a somber mood rather than ending the album with a bang.

It’s been a couple of years since a power metal album landed on my year-end list, (Twilight Force‘s Dawn of the Dragonstar in 2019), but I’m certain that trend will be broken as Warfront is likely to be one of my most listened to, favorite albums of 2022, and not just in the power metal genre.