Tag Archives: Power Metal

ALBUM REVIEW: Twilight Force – At the Heart of Wintervale

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Twilight Force’s newest album At the Heart of Wintervale (Nuclear Blast) is an epic romp through magical mystical lands. Everything about the album screams innocence and adventure. It is clear that these gentlemen, and by extension their fans, love what they do. At the Heart of Wintervale is an immersive listening experience. It’s full of sweeping vistas and swirling colours. You feel the album and see it in your mind, just as easily as listening to the music and lyrics. The album adds two tracks at the end that are orchestral versions of ‘Skyknights of Aldaria’ and ‘The Last Crystal Bearer’, totes worth it! They are amazing and worthy of being on an adventure movie soundtrack. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Legendarium – Death’s Hand In Yours

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Legendarium is a fairly busy band already with two releases, the At the Gate of the Black Kingdom single and the project’s third full-length album Under the Spell of Destruction this year alone. Their latest, Death’s Hand In Yours (Self-Released), is their strongest release of the year. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Judicator – The Majesty of Decay

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When one thinks about the Power Metal genre, several European bands might come to mind. There are the greats like Blind Guardian, Helloween, and Rhapsody of Fire that have carried this grandiose genre for many years. Yet things are beginning to change. A fresh take on speed, symphony, and big vocals is occurring in North America and Judicator is one of the bands making it happen. They have been around  for ten years and are getting ready to release their sixth full-length, The Majesty of Decay (Prosthetic Records). Even with a handful of lineup changes over the past decade, the sound  that made people’s ears perk is still there.  Known for writing about historical events and people, this new release is a concept album that takes on a much darker theme.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Warkings – Morgana

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Hail to thee, warriors of the world. Weary of continually polishing your mighty sword or washing your bloodstained loincloth in anticipation of the next slab of homoerotic battle fantasies from a certain band of American warriors? Then saddle your horse, drink your last ale and look no further than costumed European guardians of true metal, Warkings.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Stratovarius – Survive

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It’s been seven long years since Finnish power metal act Stratovarius released their previous studio album, Eternal. With so much happening in the world since then, it really does feel like an eternity. Although far from the Utopian dream, 2015 was just a much more pleasant place to live. Two hugely polarising world leaders/scandal enthusiasts were yet to come to power, pandemics only affected other people, and we still had David Bowie, Prince, and (for most of it anyway) Lemmy.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Powerwolf – The Monumental Mass – A Cinematic Metal Event

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Although it’s widely accepted that Lockdown was just one massive shitshow for the entertainment industry, it did help create a new method of career survival – live streaming. Artists of all shapes and sizes took to the internet, charging for unique live or pre-recorded shows to help pay the bills. Some were obviously quite small scale, filmed in sweaty little music studios for next to no money while other, larger acts were able to attempt much grander projects, many enhancing the experience further by utilising fancy computer generated special effects and impressive physical sets.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Victorius – Dinosaur Warfare Pt. 2 – The Great Ninja War

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Just when you thought things had finally returned to normal after the pandemic, up pop Victorius to make you question your own sanity. Returning with their sixth full-length studio album (or second since going full dino-ninja bonkers) the five German nutters with a Gloryhammer sense of humour and an instant autocorrect for a name thrust Dinosaur Warfare Pt. 2 – The Great Ninja War (Napalm Records) onto an unsuspecting (Jurassic) world.Continue reading →


CONCERT REVIEW: Nightwish – Beast In Black Live at Terminal 5

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Nightwish is the only band that can make me cry. More on that later on. For now, it’s great to finally have them return stateside and with Beast in Black. I have to say it was kind of nice just to have two bands on a show. I get that everybody wants to tour and play catch up but sometimes less is more.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Civil War – Invaders

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To the surprise of literally no-one, the third full-length studio release from Swedish historical power metal crew Civil War is all about fighting. Lots and lots of fighting. Battles, wars, heroism, rebellions, weapons and invasions, all the usual boxes remain firmly ticked by the band formed from Sabaton separatists.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Beast In Black Live at El Club

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Art and culture are on the rise in the city of Detroit because every corner of this metropolis has some exceptional humanities movement happening. Mexicantown is no exception. El Club is a cozy-sized music venue that rests in the Southwest corner of the city. This spot has made its mark by being known to graciously  host an assortment of acts from all genres. Last Monday the venue welcomed Finland’s Power Metal act, Beast in Black. This was the last stop on this band’s headlining tour, so they came ready to party. Continue reading →