Númenor – Sword And Sorcery

If ever there was a subgenre with tons of potential waiting to be excavated, it would be symphonic black/power metal. It’s no secret that both black metal and power metal are awesome when saturated in endless layers of cheesy keyboards, and as power metal bands begin experimenting more and more with harsh vocals, it seems only natural that this subgenre would gain more prominence. This is where Númenor, from Serbia, comes in. “Sword And Sorcery” is their second-full length record, and is the equivalent of taking Rhapsody of Fire’s music and adding harsh high-pitched, raspy vocals. Amazingly, however, the band doesn’t stop there. They also feature clean singing (both male and female) that rival anything a power metal band could do. In general, there is a much greater proportion of harsh vocals, but the clearer sections are certainly quite prominent on tracks like “Dragonheart”.

Musically, Númenor is pretty authentic in their Rhapsody worship. In fact, since the only primary difference is the singing, you’d almost think you’re listening to a band like Dark Moor, who similarly apes Rhapsody. This means a thunderous cacophony of double bass, aided by soaring keyboard melodies and heavy, chugging guitars. There is little deviation away from this standard formula, though compared to their Italian counterparts, Númenor’s symphonics and shredding are decidedly less classically influenced. 

One area where Númenor does differ from other power metal bands is that they’ve kept “Sword And Sorcery” down to the bare essentials. This album barely exceeds half of the length of a typical power metal album, and benefits greatly from this. As a result, it feels more energetic and less indulgent. In large part, the length also prevents the switching between clean and harsh vocals from getting tiring. Though both are performed at a high level, so few bands can really make combining the two styles work, and to be completely honest, Nùmenor would benefit from just sticking with one or the other. Overall though, there is no doubt that this band is a unique entity in the power metal scene. Their enthusiasm for this style of music (and Rhapsody in particular) shines through in their performance, and ultimately makes “Sword And Sorcery” an enjoyable release.

Be sure to check out and like Númenor on Facebook!

Highlights

"Dragonheart"

"Dragon of Erebor"

Final Rating

4.0/5 or 80%. 

Written by Scott

Prisoner – See The Scars

Prisoner is a Serbian speed metal band that is unleashing their debut-full length “See The Scars” in 2015 on the awesome label Slaney Records. Before you even hear the record, you know it’s going to kill. It has all of the attributes of a great 80s speed metal album: killer one word band name, vibrant, colourful artwork, and a concise 8-song offering. The opening song even opens with an incredible Running Wild homage before bursting into something faster and more aggressive. Perhaps the biggest surprise of this song (and the album as a whole) is the singing. Prisoner’s singer sounds remarkably American in his delivery. In other words, he doesn’t have a very noticeable accent. His vocals are clear, melodic, and incredibly well-tuned. They’re a definite highlight of the album.

Of course, the main focus here should be on the guitars. Not only do they provide a plethora of classic, old-school sounding riffs, but they know how to shred too. One of the best examples comes in the opener, “Hung, Drawn, and Quartered”, where there is a “Powerslave”-esque clean break with some incredibly emotional guitar playing, which ultimately erupts into something speedier and shreddier. Virtuosity is a common theme on this album. Though the band doesn’t inject it into every spare second they have, the guitar solos that do appear on the album are both fitting and very competent.

From a production standpoint, “See The Scars” hits all of the right marks. Everything is clear and easy to hear, and nobody is fighting for attention. When there’s a solo, it’s front and center, and most of the other times, the vocals take charge. There are some great moments like the post-solo section of “Messiah” where the double bass is absolutely punishing, or the fantastic harmonized leads of "Prisoner". On the whole, the production is executed well and keeps the focus on the songs, rather than detracting from them. For this reason, although the album isn’t particularly original, it is still an enjoyable experience. You can’t accuse Prisoner of worshipping or ripping-off a particular band (though the opening of "Risen From The Grave" sounds like a sneak preview of the new Iron Maiden album), and that makes the record a fun listen. It simply takes a number of metal tropes and presents them in a way that hasn’t been done hundreds of times before.

This album does a very good job of straddling the line of both speed metal and thrash metal. Though you could definitely argue in favour of the latter due to the insane tempos, frequent use of gang vocals, and aggressive drumming, the album seems to lean a bit more towards the former simply because it isn’t quite as heavy as a lot of thrash. Regardless of what you call it, Prisoner’s “See The Scars” is a stellar offering of metal!

Be sure to check out and like Prisoner on Facebook!

Highlights

"Hung, Drawn & Quartered"

"Lifeless"

"Prisoner"

Final Rating

4.3/5 or 86%. 

Written by Scott 

Twisted Tales – We Shall Be Heard

“We Shall Be Heard” is the debut full-length from Serbian thrashing melodeath band Twisted Tales. The album wastes little before ripping into a riff that will tear your neck off. When the vocals come in, the band’s sound becomes apparent: they have a vocalist that has a brutal growl, yet their riffs are more in the thrash realm. The combination of the two sounds is very effective. They also show more traditional melodic death metal roots on a song like “Gods of Decay”, where the band breaks into dueling lead guitars. This track is also particularly interesting because it is more mid-paced and groovy at times, but it doesn’t get boring or feel tame.

Twisted Tales has pretty much nailed the execution part of this style of music. All of the instruments sound good and are easy to hear, thanks in large part to the clear production. Additionally, they all display exceptional levels of competence, with no area that stands out as lacking. My criticism of this record is one that is all too common: it’s just too long. At 66 minutes, this is more melodeath than anyone really needs. This would not be too bad, but the band doesn’t recapture the magic they create on the first three songs. These songs stand head and shoulders above the rest of the tracks on the record, but they alone are worth the price of admission. The other songs are not bad, but by the time you hit the 50 minute mark, it definitely feels as though the band is starting to wear our their welcome. Nevertheless, “We Shall Be Heard” has a lot of very impressive melodeath, even to someone who isn’t a big fan of the subgenre.

Be sure to check out and like Twisted Tales on Facebook!

Highlights

"Troops of Twisted"

"Gods of Decay"

Final Rating

3.7/5 or 74%. 

Written by Scott