Gloryhammer – Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards

“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.

Be sure to check out and like Gloryhammer on Facebook!

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%. 

Written by Scott 

Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls

No introduction is needed for Iron Maiden, who is quite possibly the most legendary metal band of all-time. It is worth pointing out however, that they’ve had a bit of a strange career trajectory ever since the return of Bruce Dickinson. “Brave New World” was an incredible album filled with the most authentic sounding Maiden tracks since 1988, with many even saying it was on par with the band’s early work. Of course, it was a bit overlong, but nothing that couldn’t be forgiven. Rather than trim the fat, each subsequent release has become more bloated, and the simple catchiness of songs like “The Wicker Man” and “Out of the Silent Planet” was lost in favour more progressive (albeit formulaic) tracks. This has been taken to its extreme on the band’s newest double-disc release, “The Book of Souls”, which spans over 90 minutes! If there’s one band that deserves of the benefit of the doubt for something this lengthy, it is Iron Maiden.

The opening song, “If Eternity Should Fail”, is a perfect microcosm for the rest of the album. It’s a relatively upbeat number that features a solid performance from Bruce, as well as a number of great instrumental sections. Additionally, it also has an intro and outro that consist of quiet, slow sections that need to be cut. This is the double-edged sword of “The Book of Souls”. On the one hand, there are many truly great moments, ranging from awe-inspiring guitar solos, to galloping bass lines, to wicked vocal melodies. On the other hand, many songs have completely pointless sections that add no value to an already monolithic effort. One great example is the single, "Speed of Light". Like many of Iron Maiden’s recent singles, it is an energetic song that moves at a fast pace and features an accessible chorus. Admittedly, it is the one song on the record where Bruce sounds like he’s really struggling, as he attempts to access his upper range and his voice just doesn’t let him. The problem, however, is that the last 20 seconds feature one of those rock ‘n roll styled finishes that bands use live (usually on songs that fade out on the record). It might seem petty to complain about 20 seconds, but it’s symptomatic of this entire record. The very next track, “The Great Unknown”, starts out with a soft intro led by Steve Harris’ bass and Bruce’s singing that lasts for a minute and a half. This has been done to great effect earlier in their career, but at this point, it just seems like they’re padding out the length. Again, these things add up, and they’re prevalent on more than a few songs, which really drains on the listener once disc 2 hits.

When you ignore those moments, however, there is a lot to enjoy on “The Book of Souls”. The 13-minute epic “The Red and The Black” is very deserving of its playtime, as it shows that even a basic “whoa-oh” section can still be captivating. It features all of the classic Iron Maiden trademarks that have become synonymous with metal as a whole: incredible harmonized guitars, riffs that gallop away, and of course, one of the best singers ever unleashing his memorizing voice. Bruce doesn’t overextend his range on this song, and it makes the track much more effective. Additionally, the 3-pronged guitar attack Maiden employs allows them to harmonize with every vocal line and still pack a rhythmic punch at the same time (a common theme on this album; the title track also uses quite a bit of this technique).

The second disc gets off to a strong start. “Death Or Glory” is a simple, short (by current standards) rocker. It’s reminds me of past Iron Maiden songs like “Different World”, “2 Minutes To Midnight”, or “The Wicker Man”. These songs may not capture the band’s epic side, but they provide an excellent jolt of energy that makes you want to keep spinning the record over and over again. “Tears of A Clown” is similar in this respect, but it’s even catchier. In fact, this might just be the best track on the album, largely because it doesn’t feel like the band is trying so hard. That’s not to say the longer songs on this album feel forced, but “Tears of A Clown” sounds much more natural. It’s a bit more hard rock in its approach, but it is also one of Bruce’s strongest performances on the album.

“Empire of the Clouds” is the song that likely raised the most eyebrows from looking at the tracklisting. Not only is it 18 minutes, but it was written by Bruce instead of Steve, which is definitely a little unexpected. Equally unexpected was the piano that opens the song and is used quite a bit during it. In all likelihood, this was either going to be the best or the worst song on the album, but it actually manages to be neither. In fact, it’s pretty similar to the rest of the album (save for the use of piano). It certainly doesn’t sustain its length as well as “The Red and The Black” did, but there’s nothing boring about it either.

Ignoring the quieter sections on this album, it would still be fair to say that some of these songs could be cut down even more. All three of the songs exceeding 10 minutes are great throughout, but at a certain point, they start to lose effect. It’s difficult to really remember everything that happens on a 13 or 18-minute journey, and the band would be better served sticking removing some of the instrumental sections, even if they are killer.

Even though there is quite a bit of content that might not be Iron Maiden’s very best work, this album is truly an incredible effort. With the exception of the intro to “Shadows Of The Valley” (which calls back "Wasted Years"), there isn’t a moment on the album that feels like it was lifted from another Iron Maiden song, and yet they manage to make a 92-minute album interesting. At the very least, every song has a few really cool guitar leads or vocal melodies, and even the weakest track on this album (“The Man of Sorrows”) is deserving of its spot. With that said, this kind of record is something you can only do once. Maiden needs to make the next one much more succinct. The complex song structures that are led by middling lead guitars for minutes on end won’t work forever. It is interesting on “The Book of Souls” because it feels like the culmination of what they’ve been doing for the last 15 years, but it also seems like the end of a chapter for Iron Maiden. Regardless of where the band goes from here, “The Book of Souls” is a monumental effort that shows a band that is not willing to rely on their past success forever.

Be sure to check out and like Iron Maiden on Facebook!

Highlights

"If Eternity Should Fail"

"The Red and The Black"

"Death Or Glory"

"Tears of A Clown"

Final Rating

4.5/5 or 90%. 

Written by Scott 

Breitenhold – The Inn of Sorrowing Souls

“The Inn of Sorrowing Souls” is the second album for Swedish speed metal band Breitenhold. This band is another project of Ced’s, and is somewhat of a little brother to his main group Rocka Rollas. That description comes from the fact that Breitenhold seems to generate less attention, despite being relatively similar in style and substance. This means “The Inn of Sorrowing Souls” is filled to the brim with awesome solos (even more than the latest Rocka Rollas album!) and really impressive harmonies. In fact, the harmonies and leads seem like a main focus of the album, as the title track comes crashing in with an incredible lead guitar section, and there is no shortage of spectacular playing throughout the rest of the song. Another thing that is great about this song is the sheer speed of it. Much like “Time Is Gone” before it, “The Inn of Sorrowing Souls” is a blazingly fast opener that sets the tone for the rest of the album. While the new Rocka Rollas album was more experimental in nature, Breitenhold is more about flashy guitar work and catchy songs than epic parts.

While the great guitar playing is the main focus of this record (alongside Ced’s wild, erratically awesome vocals), it does set in some fatigue. Looking just at Breitenhold and Rocka Rollas, this is the fourth record in 2 years that is mostly similar in style. There are some great songs here, but this album does feature slightly weaker songwriting than the other 3 recent albums. The core elements are all here, but because the songs sound so similar to one another, it can be difficult to separate one track from the next. There are exceptions; “Mirrors of Life” is a slower tune, and a great tribute to Blind Guardian. This is at first evident through the phrasing of some of Ced’s vocal lines, but later through the guitar melodies used, which would be at home on “Nightfall in Middle-Earth”.  

Additionally, the 1-2 combo of “The Inn of Sorrowing Souls” and “Haunted Dreams” is pretty potent. The latter track follows suit of the former, as it is incredibly up-tempo and displays plenty of furious fretwork. Later on the record, “Halls of Steel” continues the excitement with a pounding anthemic first half, and a faster riff-infested section in the middle of the song. "Light The Fire" has one pretty cool part before the chorus, where the guitars are doing some palm-muting riffing between chords while the drums keep it simple with a rock and roll-styled beat, but the rest of the song is relatively standard. Aside from these songs, I find the rest of the album to be unmemorable, but enjoyable. If you aren’t burnt out on this style (and I certainly am not), it’s a definite buy, but be forewarned that it is among the weaker albums Ced has written over the last few years.

Be sure to check out and like Breitenhold on Rocka Rollas' Facebook!

Highlights

"The Inn of Sorrowing Souls"

"Haunted Dreams"

"Halls of Steel"

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott