Tag Archives: power metal album reviews

ALBUM REVIEW: Bloodbound – Field Of Swords – Napalm Records

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If Metal – Power Metal, especially – can be relied upon for one thing, it’s headbanging history lessons. Teaching you the things school either thought unimportant or simply didn’t have the time for, Metal wants you to learn about the past rather than rewrite or forget about it. While teachers drone on incessantly about crop rotation in the 14th century, bands like Sweden’s Bloodbound take you onto blood-soaked fields of battle. On their previous record with Vikings, and now on eleventh full length studio release, Field Of Swords (Napalm Records) into the middle ages and the time of the crusades.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Helloween – Giants And Monsters

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Incorporating all three singers from their long and storied history has proved to be an extremely successful venture for German power metal pioneers Helloween. The band’s eponymously titled previous album yielded great results using this formula so continuing down the same path is a no-brainer for now. So, with egos firmly in check, all seven members (now just two away from being a power metal Slipknot) appear to be having an absolute blast. But most importantly, the fans are too.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Burning Sun – Retribution

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Guitars quite literally illustrate the opening action of “By The Light”, a group of paladins attacking an evil necromantic death cult. Their failure and the sole survivor Emaly’s efforts to avenge the deaths form the balance of Burning Sun’s Retribution (Metalizer Records), a Power Metal tour de force of a concept album in the vein of Helloween and my last album reviewed for Ghost Cult, Martyr. Pancho Ireland’s vocals maintain smooth power akin to Bruce Dickinson.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Warkings – Armageddon

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Over the last seven years, what started as part-time cosplay has slowly snowballed into something much bigger. Formed in 2018, European power metal act Warkings are now up to their fifth full-length studio album and gaining momentum with each successive release.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Powerwolf – Wake Up The Wicked

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A full moon hangs in the blackened sky, wisps of cloud partially obscuring the glowing orb for a brief moment as lupine howls drift across the empty, shadowy streets below. Glowing eyes stare out from gloomy alleyways, the sound of heavy breathing and scraping of claws on concrete getting increasingly louder as they slowly emerge from the darkness…Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Rhapsody of Fire – Challenge The Wind

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If the quickest way to get from Point A to Point B is a straight line then clearly nobody thought to mention that to Italian Power Metal kings Rhapsody of Fire who to get where they are today obviously took the Enchanted Lands scenic route. This current incarnation of Rhapsody of Fire (version 666.0) might look very different to how it all began but as the fourteenth full-length studio release Challenge The Wind (AFM Records) proves in no uncertain terms, the music and the subject matter remain very much the same. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Witherfall – Sounds of the Forgotten

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All too often bands falling under the “Power Metal” banner, lack power,  diminishing many of the key elements, such as aggression, that are necessary for metal.  On Sounds of the Forgotten (DeathWave Records) Witherfall take a heavier route, drawing from the mid-1980s. This tie to Thrash even led to singer Joseph Micheal taking the mantle from the late Warrel Dane to front Sanctuary for a reunion tour. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Marc Hudson – Starbound Stories

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Marc Hudson, vocalist for DragonForce, has never done a solo album, until now. Napalm Records brings you the most awesome Starbound Stories. It is Super Saiyan AWESOME! I’m a huge lover of anime and video games. So, if you are a huge lover of power metal, anime, and video games, you will flat-out love this album. The second song ‘Freedom Heart’, sung by Ryoji Shinomoto, is epic. It’s the perfect start to a boss-level anime. It’s happy and uplifting and full of sweeping movement. Frédéric Leclercq (Sinsaenum, Kreator, and also formerly of DragonForce himself) unleashes some amazing guitar work. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Jag Panzer – The Hallowed

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Jag Panzer is a veteran (US style) Power Metal act from the icy and rocky mountains of Colorado who have been around through various lineups for a little over forty years. While I may not have been personally familiar with the group prior to this review, I was able to quickly feel how the band has been able to stay together for such a long time. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Exelerate – Exelerate

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I didn’t know what to expect when I found Exelerate’s self-titled (From The Vaults) debut album sitting in my inbox for review. I’m usually up past my eyeballs reviewing every filthy death metal and trashy thrash release I can get my grubby mitts on. Exelerate is a power metal band out of Europe and are a hard right turn from what I usually check out. 

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