“Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards”
marks the triumphant return of one of power metal’s most absurd, ridiculous,
and beloved bands: Gloryhammer! Though this album does manage to distinguish
itself from its predecessor considerably, it is unlikely to win over any new
fans for the band. In other words, Gloryhammer continues to deliver their
awesome brand of cheesy power metal.
The one particularly noticeable change on
this album is that the band now shows a lot of influence from Rhapsody of Fire.
This becomes evident immediately on “Rise of the Chaos Wizards”, as the choirs
are reminiscent of just about every Rhapsody song ever written. The very next track features
a section that is pure Alex Staropoli worship due to the way the keyboards
are written. These are the most obvious homages to the Italian legends, but
there are other more subtle ones as well.
One thing that becomes clear the further
into the album you go is that many songs start out the same way: Thomas
Winkler’s fantastic voice singing either a portion of the chorus or the entire
thing. Though this isn’t necessarily bad, it does make quite a few of these
songs relatively predictable. Nevertheless, “Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos
Wizards” features many of the band’s strongest choruses. Tracks like “Goblin
King of the Darkstorm Galaxy”, “Victorious Eagle Warfare”, and “Questlords of
Inverness, Ride to the Galactic Fortress!” are among the band’s catchiest to
date.
And then there’s “Universe On Fire”. For
those who have not heard this track yet (the band boldly pre-released it), you
might be in for a shock. This song is Gloryhammer’s effort at playing
pop/disco/dance/something very awesome. Though the song mixes in some power
metal elements, it largely shows the band moving in a different direction for a
few minutes. Admittedly, this is not a style I would typically listen to, but
Gloryhammer is so convincing in their attempt that it ends up being both the
catchiest and best song on the album. It has a driving beat, primarily because of the lighter drumming, and is ultimately a very
inspiring and uplifting tune.
Throughout the album, there are some nice
surprises that the band uses to keep things fresh. For example, the aforementioned
“Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy” features cowbell. Its use is somewhat
minimal, but it does grab your attention. The following song, “The Hollywood
Hootsman”, shows the band incorporating gang vocals, and the end of the song
shows Winkler hitting the highest notes I’ve heard from him, to the point where
it genuinely sounds like a different singer. This song is actually my least
favourite, only because it isn’t as catchy as the rest of the album, but it is
by no means weak.
As the record soldiers on, it continues
delivering. “Heroes (of Dundee)” starts off a bit slower, but quickly
transforms into yet another fantastic high-speed ode to glory. The “epic”, “Apocalypse 1992”, is
really no different from the lengthy track of the last album in the sense that
it is equally as good as the rest of the album. Though it is longer than
anything else on the record, it doesn’t feel that way, which is both good and
bad. It doesn’t provide the same sense of grandiosity that some power metal
album closers do, but it also fits in alongside the rest of the album
perfectly. Overall, it is a solid ending to a magnificent album. Though some of
the band’s best songs remain on the debut, “Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos
Wizards” is more consistent, and also shows the band unwilling to simply copy
their first record.
Highlights
"Rise of the Chaos Wizards"
"Questlords of Inverness, Ride to the Galactic Fortress!"
"Universe On Fire"
"Heroes (Of Dundee)
Final Rating
4.6/5 or 92%.
