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BLACK MAJESTY :
SANDS OF TIME - PROMO

You know, as of late I had all but given up on the entire genre of Power-Metal. Each CD I received just seemed to be lamer than the last, cheesy guitar, cheesy lyrics, and vocals that quite frankly, made the singers seem a little "light in the loafers" if ya know what I mean. It's been years since I actually bought a Power-Metal CD, except for Iron Maiden. So when I saw this, I thought, here we go again, time for some Nerd-Metal with fem vocals. Man was I wrong! Australia's Black Majesty have got it going on. This demo is only 3 tracks, but that's enough to prove they belong right beside the leaders of the genre. The guitars are right out of the Maiden school of Metal, and the drumming is quite simply, fantastic. There is so much double bass going on, that you'd think drummer Pavel was some sort of rouge Death-Metal drummer that the band shanghaied. John's vocals are bang on perfect, sort of like Bruce Dickinson, not that they sound the same, but more in the way that they can both hit the high notes when they need to, but they both still have an edge to them, and sound like they have balls. As for the songs themselves, "Fall Of The Reich" has to be the showstopper, heavy, classic, just great old-school Metal, with a fresh delivery. This is great stuff. I'm sure they will be invited to all the European festivals in the near future. For more info on these saviors of Power-Metal, you can find 'em at blackmajesty.com of course.
RATING = 8 Power-Metal (Released 2002)

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BLACK MAJESTY :
SILENT COMPANY

Well, this is bit of a blast from the past. I reviewed one of the band's promo discs three years back (see above), but admittedly, I kind of forgot about them after that. So, when this showed up in the ol' mailbox, a pang of recognition hit me, but I couldn't quite place it. After playing "Silent Company" however, it all came flowing back to me. This Australian crew have released an impressive, if not so original platter. This, now their second full-length, shows the band in full-on Iron Maiden worship. Last time out John's vocal delivery was similar to Mr. Dickinson, this time however, you'd swear he stole the man's friggin' DNA, and injected himself with it! He sounds so close to our beloved "Air-raid Siren" at times that it's just uncanny! Similarly, guitarists Hanny & Stevie seem to have spent the last few years taking classes at the "Dave Murray & Adrian Smith" school of twin guitar. I shit you not! The similarity in playing styles is remarkable! The only distinguishable difference between the two bands is that Black Majesty seems to have more of the polished, modern European Power-Metal sound to them, while Maiden sounds a tad edgier. Now, I don't really mean for all those Maiden comparisons to come off as negative, because well, there are worse bands to sound like, or to be compared to, if you're a Power-Metal outfit. Besides, once you hear how amazing these songs are, you won't really give a shit who's emulating who. You'll just wanna crank this sucker up, and break out the air-guitar for an impromptu concert in your living room! Silent Company is an excellent addition to any Metal fans collection, and thankfully keeps things heavy, and stays away from the sappier trappings of the genre. The only down sides are that the band kind of lacks an original sound, and that cover art is just super cheesy.
RATING = 8 Power-Metal (Released 2005)

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