Three bands come to mind: 80's King Diamond meets Iron Maiden (Piece of Mind era.) and Queensryche (Warning era). Lots of classic metal tones - We're talkin’ guitar chuggin, vocal screamin’, bass thumpin’ and drums thunderin’! They got it all. So who are they you might ask... Not the Who! Skeletor - Not the cartoon bad guy from the old 80's cartoon He-Man! Truthfully, I don't know where these cats come from, but if you ask me, they are from the old school.
The first song "King of Fear" and "Stronger than Steel" strike like a whip with glass etched in it. Dude gets to those high notes and stuff starts shattering! "Temple of the Witch" kicks with a groovy breakdown while "Sword of the Dawn" gallops melodiously in true Maiden form. Then it’s time to get metal thrashing mad to the tunes of "Raging Demon" and "Curse of the Black Hand". The solos here in these two songs were so nice, I had to hear 'em twice! Then the anthem-esque sounds of "Test the Metal" will have you stand and raise your fist to hail the Heavy Metal.
Finishing off the 9 song disc are "Honor is Life" and "Necromancer". These are not as fast as the others, but what they lack in speed, heaviness abounds - thick and rich with tone, musicianship and dual leads. Downside is the first track. It took a little while to get used to the vocals. Some tunes had a "sing-song" thing happening. It's a bit distracting, but the Songs are strong enough that it's unnoticeable.
Upside are "Raging Demon", "Curse of the Black Hand" and "Test the Metal". These are just my personal faves. All the songs are very well put together, mixed and arranged. P.S., I love a band that's not afraid to showcase their bassist either. We got bass all up in the mix bee-aaatch!
All in all, a good listen and one for any fan of operatic style metal vocals (i.e. bands listed at the top). I give the bag of bones a 9. Good metal overall!
Tim Duran, HMS
Older reviews