Addressing an obvious elephant in the room without actually mentioning said elephant, or indeed the massive pile of dung it left behind, is a tricky if not impossible task. However, for those who don’t already know, the origins of this solo project from Angus McSix (aka Swiss vocalist Thomas Winkler) began in 2021 with a split from his previous band for… reasons.

Emerging with both his integrity and good name fully intact, Winkler carries on where he left off, continuing the story of Angus McFife with a joke name that very nearly works. Allying himself with a completely new set of musicians, Angus McSix and the Sword of Power (Napalm Records), finds the Swiss frontman marching into battle – either with or against – Thalestris, Queen of the Lazer-Amazons of Caledonia (aka Italian guitarist Thalia Bellazecca), Skaw! Buff Berserker from the North (aka former Rhapsody of Fire drummer Manuel Lotter) and Arch Demon Seebulon, The Origin of all Evil (aka Orden Ogan keyboardist Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann) providing more guitars, bass, and backing vocals.  

Having died in battle, the hero formerly known as Angus McFife escapes through a gateway in hell to be reborn as Angus McSix, minus his infamous hammer but armed with a mighty sword and gold-coloured upgrade. Unaware that opening the portal has awoken something evil, this latest cosmic chapter of good vs bonkers is every bit as mad as you could hope for.

A mighty declaration of intent, ‘Master of the Universe’ opens the record armed with knowing lyrics like, “glory left my hammer but now I wield the sword” and a chorus not likely to leave your brain any time soon. Similarly, the thunderous ‘Sixcalibur’ rams its chorus repeatedly into your skull until there’s literally nothing left to do but submit and start singing along.

‘Laser-Shooting Dinosaur’ is quite possibly the cheesiest slice of power metal you’ll overindulge in any time soon while the soaring melodies of ‘Amazons of Caledonia’ recall the likes of ‘Univers on Fire’ and ‘The Land of Unicorns’. ‘Ride to Hell’ is essentially power metal Electric Callboy so will probably go down better with younger fans rather than those losing their hair, leaving ‘Starlord of the Sixtus Stellar System’ to hit some slightly more serious notes. But not many, obviously.

The cinematic intro of ‘The Vision in the Fires’ carries over into the driving Eurobeat of ‘Eternal Warrior’, probably the finest song this year to mention a hunchbacked mannequin. Elsewhere, ‘The Key to Eternity’, ‘In a Past Reality’ and the bouncy if ever so slightly anticlimactic closer ‘Fireflies of Doom’ all come equipped with more stupidly infectious choruses before the album concludes with the fun but throwaway bonus gallop of ‘Just a Fool Will Play Tricks on Angus McSix’. A song that immediately gains metal points for opening with the line, “I was riding on my dinosaur”.

Loaded with more cheese than a galactic-sized pizza, Angus McSix and the Sword of Power delivers space-themed silliness in a way that only a resurrected mighty space warrior can. A fine hammer-free addition to the world of wizards and space dinosaurs.

Buy the album here:

https://lnk.to/AngusMcSix-ATSOP

7 / 10

GARY ALCOCK