ALBUM REVIEW: Judas Priest, "Invincible Shield"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 06/03/2024
Label: Columbia | Epic

 
“Invincible Shield” CD//DD//LP track listing:
 
1. Panic Attack
2. The Serpent And The King
3. Invincible Shield
4. Devil In Disguise
5. Gates Of Hell
6. Crown Of Horns
7. As God Is My Witness
8. Trial By Fire
9. Escape From Reality
10. Sons Of Thunder
11. Giants In The Sky
 
Deluxe edition bonus tracks:
 
12. Fight Of Your Life
13. Vicious Circle
14. The Lodger
 
 
The Review:

It’s been six years since “Firepower”, which was released 28 years after Judas Priest had made their last classic record, “Painkiller”. “Firepower”, as I stated at the time- and as I still affirm now- was nothing less than a latter day Priest classic. Can a band that is 50 years old still deliver the goods?!
As soon as “Panic Attack” opens this record the answer is emphatic: yes.
 
Of course, this is not exactly Judas Priest as we know them. KK Downing is long gone from the ranks. Glenn Tipton is still credited and listed as part of the band, but he must have taken a back seat in the recording process at least, as he is sadly suffering from Parkinsons and is now in his mid 70s. However, Rob Halford is back at the front, Ian Hill is as solid and unflashy on the bass as ever and Scott Travis remains behind the kit- as he has done for 34 years at this point.
 
Richie Faulkner must be given huge credit here; his guitar pyrotechnics are all over this record. He plays like a demon from hell. He shreds. He soars like a bird of prey. He is flashy, melodic, stone hard and occasionally delicate. Truly, the guitar work on this album is stellar. The solos and rhythm work is uncredited, but I really hope that Tipton got to play on here somewhere- if not every track.
 
The production, courtesy of erstwhile Sabbat man Andy Sneap is state of the art. It is slick, incredibly well mixed and it sounds, to be frank, incredible. Personally, I prefer more rough and ready sounding albums and drums that sound ‘live on stage/in a room’ but I cannot fault the production here for what it is: a modern, huge, and slick sounding metal behemoth. Judas Priest got things right with “Firepower” and they get things right again here. Metallica: take note.
 
The album covers a lot of ground and a lot of moods and approaches. Yes, Priest sound like Priest, but each record is different with its own identity. “Turbo” is a far cry from “Painkiller”. “Stained Class” is very different to “British Steel”. “Jugulator” is totally different to “Nostradamus”. If comparisons are to be drawn, this is not dissimilar to “Firepower” but is perhaps closer in some ways to “Redeemer of Souls” in terms of moods and melody. Indeed, “Redeemer…” could have been a Priest classic, were it not for a lacklustre production and mix and too many mid paced moments.
 
Priest don’t make those mistakes here. The first three tracks are simply headbanging heaven. Neck-snapping nitro-glycerine for newbies and oldies alike. “Panic Attack”, “The Serpent and the King” and the title track simply put the pedal to the heavy metal and fly. Screaming vocals, searing guitars and pounding drums create an adrenaline fuelled vehicle- made of metal. Halford sounds incredible and once again Travis is awake and on fire with his effortless and ambidextrous precision behind the kit.
 
It’s nice to hear the Halford lyricisms present and correct as well; instead of ‘desolisating’ we get ‘volatise’ and so on. A nice nod to the group’s history and Rob’s approach to words and the English language: if it sounds right… it’s in!
 
The band drop down the tempo for “Devil In Disguise” and it reminds me of a kind of throwback to “Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather”- a dose of melody, a dose of groove, some heavy riffage and a big chorus. It’s a really solid track and not one I would have expected on “Firepower”. This is the band spreading their sad wings wider.
 
“Gates of Hell” is again at a different tempo, utilises some excellent guitar motifs and features an excellent Halford performance. This one could have fitted in on “British Steel”, or “Screaming…” or “Defenders…” it’s that kind of track. Quality hard rock/metal. “Crown of Horns” is up next and represents the slower and more melodic side of Priest. A side, to be honest, I don’t much care for. This would indeed have worked on “Redeemer of Souls”, “Point of Entry” or even “Turbo”. It’s well crafted and catchy, but NOT what I want from Judas Priest, even at this late stage of their career.
 
Pleasingly, “As God Is My Witness” sprints out of the blocks with the double bass drums rolling. This is what I’m here for; HEAVY METAL. Yep, this rules and sprinkles liberal doses of lead work throughout as Travis simply pulverises the kit. “Trial By Fire” drops tempo again, but more effectively this time. Interesting timing and clever riffing coalescing for a big chorus with a nice rolling feel- again shades of the best “Redeemer” material. Changing up again, “Escape From Reality” has a Sabbath vibe to the riff, before using dynamics to build the tension and another strong chorus. Halford channels Ozzy for the middle eight and it really works.
 
The last two tracks of the album proper are “Sons of Thunder” and “Giants in The Sky”. “Sons of Thunder” is a distant cousin of “Hell Bent For Leather” with a ‘freedom biker’ theme- and a gang backing vocal on the chorus. It’s fun, it’s metal; it opens the throttle up for the solo sections and allows Halford to once again give voice to his open-highway fantasies. “Giants In The Sky” is a celebratory affair but tinged with a little sadness. A tribute to the fallen gods of the metal world, Halford remembers his friends and pays heartfelt tribute to them here; you can imagine Lemmy, Dio et al voicing their approval and raising a glass in return. It’s lovely to hear Halford’s passion for the legends of the genre- he remains a fan, even after all these years.
 
It’s a nice closing statement and a reminder that Priest won’t be around forever. If this is the last studio album, it’s a very good one to go out on and represents everything that is good about the band; varied material, masterful metal and a real ear for melody missing from much of the modern-day genre. Halford’s final scream is excellent, as well.
 
If you are streaming the album, or if you shelled out for the special edition CD, you will also hear three bonus tracks. “Fight For Your Life” is a grooving stomper with another melodic chorus. It’s a decent track, but not quite up to the standard of the rest of the record, perhaps. “Vicious Circle” is a chugging monster and- for my money- could have made the main body of the record easily; a quality slice of steel.
 
Finally, there is the outlier. The oddball. The bonus track that wouldn’t have fitted on the main record. “The Lodger” is a strange one. It’s not written by the band. It is the work of Bob Halligan Jnr who wrote “Take These Chains”, in the band’s early 80s golden years on “SFV”. As a point of note, I dislike “Take These Chains” intensely. I don’t like “Some Heads are Gonna Roll” from “Defenders…” either. This song is like something out of a Broadway musical. It’s kind of a crime drama, but for me is far too close to Spinal Tap’s “Jack The Ripper” musical idea for comfort. He’s a naughty one, that Bob Halligan Jnr. All of that said, it is a bonus track and the band is to be commended for trying something different and giving the fans more for their money. Many will love it.
 
So, what’s the verdict? It’s a latter-day Priest triumph. I don’t think it quite matches up to “Firepower”, but some will disagree. This is a quality record through and through and certainly better than everything the band did in the latter half of the 80s and then better than everything other than “Painkiller” and “Firepower” since. Really, for a band half a century in, I could absolutely not ask for any more than this. The band is still firing on all cylinders and the vast majority of the eleven tracks that make up the album proper are excellent. Of the three bonus tracks, one is a killer, one is a filler and one is not for me at all. Overall, this is superlative heavy metal and absolutely worthy of one of the best bands in the genre.
 
Sign on the line and let The Priest have your soul, indeed.
 
For my own bonus track, here is my list of Priest studio albums in order of preference. Don’t get too upset, it’ll change tomorrow. And next week. And on and on.

1). Sad Wings of Destiny
2). Stained Class
3). British Steel
4). Firepower
5). Killing Machine (Hell Bent For Leather)
6). Painkiller
7). Sin After Sin
8). Defenders of The Faith
9). Invincible Shield
10). Jugulator
11). Screaming For Vengeance
12). Rocka Rolla
13). Redeemer of Souls
14). Angel of Retribution
15). Point of Entry
16). Ram It Down
17). Demolition
18). Turbo
19). Nostradamus

Band info: official || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Castle, “Deal Thy Fate”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/10/2018

Label: Ripple Music

Castle remain unique and mix up the sounds and approaches of many of your favourite bands to create a superlative heavy metal record

“Deal Thy Fate” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Can’t Escape the Evil
2). Skull in the Woods
3). Prelude
4). Hexenring
5). Wait For Dark
6). Deal Thy Fate
7). Haunted
8). Red Phantom
9). Firewind

The Review:

Castle have been on quite the prolific run since 2011; this is their fourth full length. 2016's “Welcome To The Graveyard” was a great, great album and my favourite of theirs to date. Is “Deal Thy Fate” a step forward, sideways or back? Either read on or go and listen to it to find out...

The band remain with a foot/other body part in several different camps. It's not doom, it's not trad, it's not thrash, it's not rock. In fact, it's all those things mixed together. The band have a spooky vibe and veer towards the doom rock of Pentagram at times, but there are many riffs here which lean towards, or even heavily on, Slayer for reference. From the opener of “Can't Escape the Evil” and into  “Skull in the Woods”, you can only assume that Castle have summoned Jeff Hanneman's spirit and he has communicated what he would have played from beyond the grave, leading Mat Davis to oblige. That's not to take away from the material, it's a fresh angle for the band and they work it well.

Over the course of the eight tracks and one interlude here, Castle have added to their sound and built solidly on their previous three records. “Hexenring” could have nestled very comfortably into “WTTGY” and the vocals of Liz Blackwell are as stellar as ever. “Wait For Dark” is dramatic and evil in delivery and riffage and shows the band have retained an endearing rawness to their approach. My digitally provided copy has a few glitches here and there- it is hard to ignore at times with a couple of jumps in this track and others.

Digital issues aside, the sound of the album and the title track are reassuringly analogue. The evil and dark vibes continue and work really well with Blackwell's schizophrenic vocals. Once again, Castle are hard to pigeon-hole; the title track could be out of the Angel Witch NWOBHM play book, while “Haunted” goes much further towards hard rock. There may be nothing as immediate as “Flash of the Pentagram” here, but the songs throughout are uniformly strong and the production is perfect for the band.

The melting pot of hard rock and Slayer-esque riffing continues with “Red Phantom” and it delivers a storming and hard rocking penultimate track for this confident album. For the closing “Firewind”, Castle slow things down and offer up a track which starts effectively as a maudlin ballad and then gets heavier. Hey, if it's good enough for 70's era Priest... it's good enough for anybody. Castle deliver a surprisingly emotional final statement and close out the album with strength and purpose. The band have progressed here, no doubt, and they have set themselves up for a broader sound on their next album- should they wish to deliver such a thing. Castle remain unique and mix up the sounds and approaches of many of your favourite bands to create superlative heavy metal and hard rock. Excellent.

Order “Deal Thy Fate” direct from the band HERE and via Ripple Music HERE.

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Satan, "Cruel Magic"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 07/09/2018

Label: Metal Blade Records

Satan have produced another fantastic heavy metal album, packed full of riffs and great songs sung by a wonderful singer. This should come as no surprise to anyone, though- the devil always did have the best tunes.

“Cruel Magic” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Into The Mouth Of Eternity
2. Cruel Magic
3. The Doomsday Clock
4. Legions Hellbound
5. Ophidian
6. My Prophetic Soul
7. Death Knell For A King
8. Who Among Us
9. Ghosts Of Monongah
10. Mortality

The Review:

Satan are one of the more revered NWOBHM bands and also, unusually, have gone on to create fantastic albums since reforming. Both “Life Sentence” and “Atom By Atom” are heavy metal greatness in recorded form and the band are excellent live. They occupy a special place in heavy metal heaven, as they define the NWOBHM sound, in terms of what it should sound like when done absolutely right!

Brian Ross' vocals have always been a strong selling point of this Newcastle band and, for those unaware, the city has more metal to offer than Venom alone. This is their third full length in five years and their return has been welcomed by anyone who ever heard “Court In The Act” and loved it. Musically, then, the band sit firmly along the Angel Witch/Di'Anno Maiden era trajectory with hard rock tropes fitting nicely alongside the metal on offer throughout.

The initial fast pacing of “Into the Mouth of Eternity” sets the album roaring out of the gate and by the time a cowbell crops up in the title track, you know what you are getting: heavy metal. Resolutely old school heavy metal of the highest quality. It says a lot about the times we find ourselves in when I am surprised to not find doom-inflections in Satan's latest offering. This is not doom, or thrash or any other sub genre currently in favour. It is traditional heavy metal, that's it.

Most tracks are pacey, of course- “The Doomsday Clock” is rapid, but possessed of fleet-footedness a la Maiden's “Killers” album rather than the leaden foot of retro thrash. Elsewhere the riffs come fast, “Legions Hellbound” is heavy metal heaven for those listeners out there who either were at The Marquee in 1980 or wished they had been.

The weighty “Ophidian” is a change of pace and brings into focus the fact that the band have opted for the traditional ten track format here. That is absolutely the right move as all songs are focused and tight, devoid of filler and don't stretch beyond the six minute mark. That is not to say that they don't sound epic though, as they often do. Satan have mirrored the trick that Maiden used to do so well, which is to pack in an entire theme into a relatively short space of time and capture the essence of the subject matter (for Maiden, think “The Trooper”). “My Prophetic Soul” sounds like an epic track with its anguish and multiple changes but it packs it all into only four and a half minutes.

Down the backstretch, the album is no less metal, no less accomplished and features material delivered with absolute conviction. “Death Knell For A King” is heavy metal writ large and classic- fantastic track. “Who Among Us” is larger in scale and quintessentially British in its metallic delivery. “Ghosts of Monongah” is another winner; Priest-esque chugging combines with Priest-esque guitar work in general. Excellent stuff.

By the time of closing epic “Mortality” there is no doubt that the band have done it again: Satan have produced another fantastic heavy metal album, packed full of riffs, leads, frenetic bass playing, drums that don't just consist of frantic double kicks and great songs sung by a wonderful singer. This should come as no surprise to anyone, though- the devil always did have the best tunes.

“Cruel Magic” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Immortal, "Northen Chaos Gods"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 6/7/2018

Label: Nuclear Blast

Fans of each era of Immortal will find something that speaks directly to them, and as a beginning for a new era in Immortal’s career, it’s an obviously strong one.

‘Northern Chaos Gods’ CD//CS//LP//DD track listing:

1. Northern Chaos Gods

2. Into Battle Ride

3. Gates to Blashyrkh

4. Grim and Dark

5. Called to Ice

6. Where Mountains Rise

7. Blacker of Worlds

8. Mighty Ravendark

The Review:

The story surrounding ‘Northern Chaos Gods’, Immortal’s first new album in nearly nine years, is all about what transpired during their long hiatus, and the absence of their longtime and charismatic front man Abbath. It’s a difficult thing, trying to move out from under the shadow of someone whose personality and voice were so intrinsically linked with the band’s very existence. On social media, the announcement of this album was plagued by comments from long time fans deriding the very thought of Immortal continuing without Abbath. It felt like an impossibility to them, like trying to imagine Motörhead without Lemmy.

Heavy metal history is brimming with stories of bands trying to continue on without legendary vocalists: Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and so on. And we know that those stories rarely end with the band continuing to succeed at a similar level once that change is made. But there are exceptions to that rule. The most prominent example of this, at least from an extreme metal perspective, is probably Cannibal Corpse. Corpsegrinder has proven to be a more dynamic vocalist and an equally, if not more engaging live performer. It’s hard to find the basis for an argument that the band’s popularity has suffered without Chris Barnes, as you won’t find any evidence supporting that idea based on comparing sales for last year’s Six Feet Under and Cannibal Corpse albums.

Making predictions for something like this is never easy, but the Cannibal Corpse analogy may hold water still, even though they and Immortal represent different subgenres. Cannibal Corpse’s first post-Barnes album was ‘Vile’ in 1996, an album that was met with mixed reviews from fans. And while it’s pretty likely that ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ will fare somewhat better in its reception, there are some issues with the album that deserve consideration.

The main concern I have with ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ is what I’ll call “going to the same well too many times” with certain compositional choices. In specific, it’s using very similar-sounding triplet-based clean guitar parts in several songs throughout the album. They first appear early on in the song “Gates of Blashyrkh” and show up again and again as the album goes on. Directly related to this is Demonaz’ continued love affair with viking-era Bathory, which in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. But the way that slower, epic sound manifests itself here causes the album to lag somewhat as we get late into the album. By the time “Mighty Ravendark” ends, we’ll have heard the “clean triplet guitar interlude into epic Bathory” device in three separate songs. For those who remember Demonaz’ solo album ‘March of The Norse’, you’ll remember that nearly every song on that album featured the same central rhythm. The man gets a specific musical idea in his mind and isn’t afraid to invest huge chunks of an album to that one idea, exploring it from every possible angle over an album’s duration. The repetition isn’t as difficult to sit through here, but it definitely warrants discussion.

Where ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ shines brightest is when it’s going full speed ahead. The lead single and title track was absolutely the right choice to showcase up front, with its callbacks to the pitch black frenetic energy of ‘Battles in the North’. ‘Into Battle Ride’ is another blast fest, sticking out in particular because it’s the only song on the album in which large sections of it are in straightforward 4/4 time, with the triplet rhythms waiting nearly a full minute before coming into play. “Grim And Dark” is a great combination of the two central styles of the album, with blast beats giving those giant chord progressions some extra energy via Horgh’s blistering speed.

‘Northern Chaos Gods’ is largely a great album. I’ve spent a large section of this review pointing out the album’s faults and hammering Demonaz for dwelling on a certain compositional style, and that’s because I think that’s a valid criticism of what he’s shown us as a composer between his solo album and now this album. But even keeping that criticism in mind, this is still a better album than Abbath’s solo album, which hasn’t held up especially well as time has gone by. Abbath’s album definitely holds the advantage in variety, but ‘Northern Chaos Gods’ is better as a fully realized listening experience. Fans of each era of Immortal will find something that speaks directly to them, and as a beginning for a new era in Immortal’s career, it’s an obviously strong one.

“Northern Chaos Gods” is available digitally here and on CD/CS/LP here. 

Band info: Facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Judas Priest, "Firepower"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 09/03/2018

Label: Columbia Records

“Firepower” is one of the best albums in Priest's canon- it has the songs, the sound and the playing to match their best.

“Firepower” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Firepower
2. Lightning Strike
3. Evil Never Dies
4. Never The Heroes
5. Necromancer
6. Children of the Sun
7. Guardians
8. Rising From Ruins
9. Flame Thrower
10. Spectre
11. Traitors Gate
12. No Surrender
13. Lone Wolf
14. Sea Of Red

The Review:

It would be fair and accurate to say that there are only a handful of bands in the metal genre that can accurately be described as legendary due to their progressing the genre and defining the sound and image. Naturally, Judas Priest are one of that very select number. The band brought twin guitars (with more bite than either Wishbone Ash or Thin Lizzy) into the metal world, along with screaming vocals- often with an aggressive edge to them- and utilised double bass drums and complex arrangements long before most.

Priest's 70's output catapulted the heavy metal genre forward- “Sad Wings of Destiny”, “Sin After Sin”, “Stained Class”, “Killing Machine” and “Unleashed In The East” are classics one and all (even if SAS is a little uneven) and sowed the seeds for thrash, power, speed and even death metal in their approach. 2018, then, finds the band 28 years on from their last classic (“Painkiller”) and a couple of decades on from a truly consistent album. To be clear, I love 70's Priest through and through. I love half of their 80's output; “British Steel”, “Screaming for Vengeance” and “Defenders of The Faith” are all fantastic. However, after that and “Painkiller” the band's work in progressing and defining the genre was done. “Painkiller” was a monstrous work of metal- still massively heavy and the production still sounds enormous- but it is not on the level of their 70s work in my view. “Turbo” and “Ram It Down” were quite simply woeful.

Throughout the 90's, Priest suffered a similar fate to Maiden in that they got in a younger vocalist after their erstwhile frontman went AWOL, who kept the band going. To be fair, “Jugulator”- featuring Tim Ripper Owen's superb vocals- was a good and very heavy record, “Demolition” was Ripper Owens' second with the band and suffers a little  from trying to keep up  with the times- but still contains some great tracks. Halford's return was lauded but produced somewhat uneven results; “Angel of Retribution” had some classics, but it also had the abysmal “Loch Ness”. “Nostradamus” was a conceptual misfire. “Redeemer of Souls” from a few years back was the best of the reunion albums, but was over long and lacked a little in terms of production and aggression. Oh well, thought the fans, they are getting on a bit- we can't expect the aural pyrotechnics of the past... maybe Priest are ready to wind down.

How wrong we were. The Priest is back! “Firepower” is their best album for decades. Certainly the best since “Painkiller”... maybe even better than that. What marks this record out? The songs, the performances and the production. This is the best set of tunes Priest has put together in a lifetime. The playing has real fire, Halford sings superbly. Scott Travis really works hard and puts in a superb turn on the kit- he sounds animated and powerful. Andy Sneap and Tom Allom have combined to make an incredible production team. The album sounds incredible. Muscular, heavy and with a sheen that makes this really listenable.

From the off, the band deliver two stone cold classics: the title track and “Lightning Strikes” could have opened any Priest album and been regarded as two of the best racks on there. They are that good. From there, the album is consistently good and often fantastic. “Evil Never Dies” is a foot stomping beast, “Necromancer” is classic metal in every sense of the word. There are more melodic songs too; “Never The Heroes” is a touching semi ballad- but still features a stunning riff. “Children From the Sun” and “Rising From Ruins” may hint a little too much at the more plodding material from “Defenders of the Faith..”. but they are still good songs and, frankly, the fact that I am even comparing them to the weaker tracks from one of Priest's best albums speaks for itself. They are still pretty good.

If “Flame Thrower” strays too close to Spinal Tap territory in the chorus lyrics, it makes up for this with energy and riffs for days. Plus, Halford's verses are pretty neat and have some nice references to the band's past- with some serious hooks in the bridge to boot. The band deliver another catchy mid tempo track in “Spectre”, another metal classic in the form of “Traitor's Gate” which has some great story telling, more anthemic hard rock/heavy metal in “No Surrender” (it could be from any of the band's best albums) and a Sabbath-esque curveball in the form of “Lone Wolf” which delivers sinister atmosphere and serious groove. Halford is absolutely on fire here as well. They even manage to sign off with the best ballad they have written since the 1970's in the form of “Sea of Red”- an epic finish to an album I thought the band would never make. Every band member excels.

“Firepower” is one of the best albums in Priest's canon- it has the songs, the sound and the playing to match their best. Even if being very picky, there are only a couple of weaker tracks and they are STILL good. For a classic band to make an album like this after so long is incredible. For it to be Priest to have done it is an absolute triumph. If this is to be Glenn Tipton's last record, he has signed off in style, having kept the band going through the good and bad times. If this is to be the latter day high point for Tipton, Halford, Hill, Travis and Faulker then that is fine with me. To be clear, this leaves every other giant metal band's work of the last twenty years in the dust (with the possible exception of Heaven and Hell's “The Devil You Know”- Dio-era Sabbath in all but name- which was a majestic album). “Firepower” is so good, I can't quite believe it. This can be added to Priest's list of classic albums. A long list just got one longer. There are fourteen tracks here, but this album goes to eleven. 

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Visigoth - "Conqueror's Oath"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 09/02/2018
Label: Metal Blade Records

Eight tracks, all absolute killers. Superb production, fantastic playing and performances all around. With “The Revenant King”, Visigoth delivered my favourite album of 2015. With “Conqueror's Oath” they have achieved heavy metal perfection.  . The best heavy metal album of 2018? Count on it.

“Conqueror's Oath” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Steel and Silver
2. Warrior Queen
3. Outlive Them All
4. Hammerforged
5. Traitor’s Gate
6. Salt City
7. Blades in the Night
8. The Conqueror’s Oath

The Review:

Salt Lake City's most metal export return here with a blazing follow up to their mighty opus “The Revenant King” of 2015. As I noted in that review: this is heavy metal. Proper heavy metal. Think of the sounds of Priest having a sword fight with Maiden while Grand Magus referees. In fact, words cannot express the utter heavy-metalness of it all. The band has delivered everything I hoped for with this sophomore full length. The galloping and majestic rhythms, the soaring lead breaks, the powerful and dramatic vocals- all are contained within the opening “Steel and Silver” and the album does not let up from there. It pleases me that there are still bands out there like this; bands that keep to the old gods. Bands that rejoice in the defeat of their enemies and laugh at the four winds from their mountain.

It is not often that there is nothing to fault, but I can't find anything here that is not just right. The mix and production is confident and muscular with every instrument clearly audible. Jake Rogers' vocals are even more self assured than on the debut and he delivers a master class here- a powerful singer in a fairly low register, his voice is perfect for this. The songs clip by at such a rate that the album is a focused and vicious raiding party even after repeated listens. “Warrior Queen” is catchy and joyful, propelled along by a very tight rhythm section and duelling guitars. It is five and a half minutes of heavy metal heaven- or should that be Valhalla?!

The band press the pedal to the metal with more regularity on this album; there were elements of doom to be found on “TRK”, but that has been superseded by the likes of the Highlander-themed “Outlive Them All” which is fast and furious, whilst being full of hooks. Naturally, the band are not flat out all of the time and there is plenty of room for acoustic elements, vocal harmonies and swinging grooves through “Hammerforged”. It also has a fantastic central refrain of the mightiest riffage.

“Traitor's Gate” acts as a centrepiece for the record as Rogers invokes the spirit of Ronnie Dio in the melodrama and gravitas of his performance. It builds up slowly, but when it rolls in, triplets blazing, once again metal nirvana is reached. The whole band are playing out of their skins on this one; it's superb with all essential metallic elements present and correct.

The band's tribute to their home town follows- “Salt City” is pure heavy metal rock and roll, expertly delivered and anthemic in the extreme. It provides a burst of carefree enthusiasm with not a revenge plot in sight. There is also great lead playing, as there is throughout the album. “Blades in the Night” follows, with feet pressed to the floor and swords fully unsheathed. Again, it's hooky and powerful in equal measure.

The title track closes this remarkable album in majestic style. It is another slow burning epic with excellent two guitar work and themes that will make your battle jacket be filled with pride. Eight tracks, all absolute killers. Superb production, fantastic playing and performances all around. With “The Revenant King”, Visigoth delivered my favourite album of 2015. With “Conqueror's Oath” they have achieved heavy metal perfection. I have all but run out of superlatives to describe this fantastic record. Iron Maiden are on their way to retirement, Priest are readying themselves for  perhaps just one more foray, Manowar are bowing out and the world is just not as receptive to songs about valour and glory any more. Visigoth, though, keep the flame alive and burning brightly, ready to forge sounds of the purest steel- hopefully for years to come. The best heavy metal album of 2018? Count on it.

“Conqueror’s Oath” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Savage Messiah - "Hands Of Fate"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/10/2017

Label: Century Media Records

The record is a solid, well written, well produced and expertly played slice of modern heavy metal. The hooks and melodies are there and they are very good, but adrenaline is not a key ingredient any more.

“Hands of Fate” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Hands Of Fate

2. Wing And A Prayer

3. Blood Red Road

4. Lay Down Your Arms

5. Solar Corona

6. Eat Your Heart Out

7. Fearless

8. The Last Confession

9. The Crucible

10. Out Of Time

The Review:

Savage Messiah are one of the UK's premier melodic thrash/heavy metal acts and have done considerable business both at home and abroad over the course of their first three albums. From their thrashing debut “Insurrection Rising” to the slightly difficult second album “Plague of Conscience” and then on to the melodic majesty of “The Fateful Dark”, this fourth album comes with considerable expectations attached and is wrapped up in an altogether more “serious” package of artwork and sounds.

Once again, the band has stepped up onto a larger label, once again the ideas are forward thinking and once again the production is very good. The title track is up first and is best described as a mixture of mid period/ latter day Judas Priest and Metallica at their more melodic. As the record progresses, it is clear that the band are now much more firmly in the “heavy metal bracket” and much less in the more underground thrash genre. That is not to say that the album is not heavy- it is; the likes of “Wing and a Prayer” has chugging verse sections, lots of leads but all topped with a slick vocal production and some very catchy soaring choruses.

There are faster tracks here, but no outright barn burners; “Blood Red Road” shows the band can still put the pedal to the metal and also demonstrates that Savage Messiah now inhabit a similar genre to the excellent Absolva- British Heavy Metal as a composite of classic sounds and bands with a very modern twist. The band have gone for the solid ten track album format and as the tracks go by, there is a cohesive feel- even from mid paced stompers like “Lay Down Your Arms” to the speedier melodies “Solar Corona” to the anthemic and pacey “Eat Your Heart Out”- which almost sounds like a classic Def Leppard track until the first riff kicks in.

Make no mistake, this is slick stuff and offers up a kind of composite which bridges NWOBHM sounds and enthusiasm with Priest at their arena conquering height whilst also taking in more modern production techniques and sounds. “Fearless” is almost hard rock- the vocal and chorus could be straight off … well, something a lot more commercial than I would expect. The solo section makes up for this somewhat saccharine turn, though.

There is nothing over five minutes on this album, which is quite telling in regards to where the band are aiming for and where they are heading. The quasi-ballad “Last Confession” drops the tempo but does not extend the playing time, opting instead for an anthemic chorus and a quiet/loud dynamic. The final two tracks of the album appealed to me a lot more- “The Crucible” is one of the heavier tracks on the album with a solid riff and commercial leanings kept to a minimum, while “Out of Time” provides a darkly atmospheric finish to this  intriguing record.

Overall, then we can conclude: Savage Messiah are a thrash band no longer and that style has not been pursued here. The band are making a play for commercial appeal by dialling down the metal imagery and more spiky elements of their sound. The record is a solid, well written, well produced and expertly played slice of modern heavy metal. The hooks and melodies are there and they are very good, but adrenaline is not a key ingredient any more. Having seen the band at Damnation Festival in 2015 (I think) I was converted into a fan over the course of their short set. You would be hard pressed to find many bands doing this style better. If melodic heavy metal is your bag, then definitely check this out- if thrash madness is what you are after, then Kreator, Overkill, Sodom and others have more of what you need.

“Hand of Fate” is available here

Band info: facebook