Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black [1990]

Okay, I admit it, I am a power metal fan/faggot (depending on your point of view). I can't help it when some of it is as awesome as this, Sanctuary's second and last album from 1990. You see, power metal is at its best not when writing 7-hour long conceptual odysseys, but rather when they write some ballsy songs (see: Running Wild, early Blind Guardian). And here, Sanctuary write songs with surprisingly socially aware lyrics for metal music - admittedly, the 'Long Since Dark'/'Epitaph' duo isn't quite up to the par of the rest of the album, but the quality of the likes of 'Future Tense', 'The Mirror Black' and 'One More Murder' is beyond question. It's quite thrashy in places too, so could provide an entry album to power metal for those into the more extreme ends of metal. Unfortunately often overlooked when considering the genre, this album is a classic.

192 kbps

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Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings [1995]

Sorry for the long absence - I was sure I'd scheduled that Hubelyska review for a point in the interim. Huh. Anyway, this is in my eyes Iced Earth's best album - although admittedly this opinion must be qualified by the fact that I haven't yet heard Night Of The Stormrider. Regardless, this is a stunning display of semi-thrashy power metal, its highlights being 'Creator Failure' and 'Dante's Inferno' in my eyes. That said, this is one of the few albums for which I can honestly say every song is a winner - I may appear to say it rather a lot, but that's just because I post lots of good albums here, right? Anyway, if you think power metal's normally 'gay' this might be a good place to start on your road to having a second fucking think about it. Yeah. I'm a power metal tough fairy.

320 kbps

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Blind Guardian - Battalions Of Fear [1988]

And back to some metal; since their inception, Blind Guardian have pretty much embodied everything that is good about power metal. That is to say, not the terrible axis of power metal, your Dragonforce, your Sabaton, your Kamelot, but rather, metal with drive, hooks galore and, well, power. Every song on this is a winner, from the opener 'Majesty' (which is also quite epic in its writing), to the closer proper and title track 'Battalions Of Fear' (although it must be noted that the instrumental outro 'By The Gates Of Moria' is far from worthless). Although I previously made this claim about Somewhere Far Beyond, I've changed my mind; this is Blind Guardian's defining moment.

192 kbps

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Re-upload: Manilla Road - Crystal Logic [1983]

Manilla Road are a perpetually underrated speed/power metal band, with elements of thrash. Throughout their 14 album career, they have not released a bad one, however, this is their best. And their lyric 'I'm lost in necropolis' will always sound to me like 'I'm lost in the gravalax'.

Re-upload notes: I was just listening to this today and it struck me how good it was, and how I should therefore re-upload it. This is essential.

128 kbps

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Accept - Restless And Wild [1982]

I found myself humming several songs from this album earlier today, and it occurred to me that I hadn't yet posted it here on Court In The Act. Initially, I enjoyed the instrumentation on the album but found the vocals nauseatingly akin to AC/DC, but have since got over that and learned to love this fantastic set of songs. Germany really has always known how to make metal; from the excellent trad scene of the early 80s to some of the best thrash ever produced, to rapidly developing death metal and black metal scenes in the early to mid 90s. However, this is quite possibly the most famous album ever to come out of Germany that is actually great (read: no Scorpions), and plaudits for the seamless integration of poppy (everything is poppy, maaaaan) hooks into individual tunes.

320 kbps

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Re-upload: Running Wild - Black Hand Inn [1994]

Contrary to popular belief, Alestorm were not the world's first 'pirate' metal band. Indeed, they were beaten by some 30 years by Running Wild, who, on this album, continued both their own fine tradition, and that of Germany's heavy/power metal scene.

Re-upload notes: Seriously, this is a quintessential power metal album - and one that should also appeal to those who aren't usually fond of power metal but like other forms of trad metal.

128 kbps

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REVIEW: Savage Messiah - Plague of Conscience [2012]

Alright, I'll admit to having shown no interest in this album until I got an e-mail from Earache records offering it as a free download from their site. Given that the last two albums I downloaded from Earache were Gama Bomb's "Tales From the Grave in Space" and Wormrot's "Dirge", I figured I may as well give it a spin. Plus, I'd be going into this album with absolutely no expectations, so at least I wouldn't be disappointed.

So then, "Plague of Conscience" is a thrash/power metal album from Savage Messiah, and their first release on Earache. Those of you who read my 2011 roundup may remember the first impression I had of Destruction's "Day of Reckoning", in that it was a little underwhelming. Well this first impression showed its ugly face again with "Plague of Conscience", and continued throughout. There wasn't anything on the album in particular which caught my attention or made me think 'hey, that was pretty cool'. All in all, the 53 minutes of the album passed by without incident, which definitely can't be good for my rating of it.

There were some parts of the album which at least sounded nicer than other parts (a statement so vague it's completely without merit by itself), which is not necessarily good, as there were no real ball-grabbing moments as you'd maybe expect on a thrash album. Anyway, "Six Feet Under the Gun" and "In Thought Alone" were the two best tracks of the album, and even they weren't much better than the rest quality-wise.

And that's about it really. Ordinarily I could write much more, but this album affected me that little that I've already run out of things to say.

3/10


You can download this album for free of Earache Records' website, so I'm not going to bother uploading it.

Running Wild - Gates To Purgatory [1984]

This, Running Wild's debut album, is some of the best power metal ever made. It's German, it's from the mid 80s, of course it's some of the best power metal ever made. Every song is an absolute winner, and the variation in pace makes this album near perfect, and thus absolutely essential for everyone. It's also a blessing that it's slightly shorter than some of their later material, which, although also essential, can drag after 55 minutes or so.

320 kbps

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Helloween - Helloween EP [1985]

Even within the camps of power metal purists, there is much dispute as to what Helloween's best release is. Many cite either part one or two of Keeper Of The Seven Keys; others prefer the more balls-to-the-wall approach of Walls Of Jericho, or indeed this, Helloween's debut EP. What do I say? Doesn't really matter, they all rule. Why? The songwriting. Let's face it, nobody listens to power metal for the technicality (apart from faggy Dragonforce fans), or the aesthetic qualities. A set of songs here which will make your throat sore from howling the lyrics along with Kai Hansen, and your chest sore from the chest-beating testosterone of it all.

128 kbps

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Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I [1987]

Some people, like my fellow contributor randerson1893, consider all power metal to be 'shit' and 'gay'. But what does he know, he thinks prog is cool. This is one of THE power metal albums that one must hear; although it does have the required pomp and circumstance for the genre, it is not overly cheesy, and comes over as a fantastic album, especially the epic 'Halloween'.

~255 kbps VBR

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REVIEW: Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events [2011]

As you may have noticed from my posts on this blog, I'm a huge Dream Theater fan. However I - as I'm sure many other DT fans were - was a little apprehensive regarding the first album from the proggy-power-metally quintet without founding drummer and primary songwriter Mike Portnoy. Having watched the audition video the band released (and personally thinking Marco Minneman was a better drummer), I was interested but cautious about the new album.

To my relief, "A Dramatic Turn of Events" sounds very much like a Dream Theater album. But perhaps that is also the problem. As a whole, the album sounds very much like the band's previous efforts. In particular, the album opener "On the Backs of Angels" borrows heavily from the band's best-known song, "Pull Me Under". And the similarities don't stop there. "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" sounds like "The Root of All Evil". "This is the Life" sounds like "The Spirit Carries On". Even the album cover follows the well-established Dream Theater artwork trend of being terrible.

However, this means in no way that "ADToE" is a bad album. The songs the album draws heavily from are all very good songs, so it stands to reason that these new songs are also good. However, more or less everything on the album has been done before, and better.

Which brings me on to the curious case of Mike Mangini. One thing that became very apparent from his audition video was that Mangini was trying his level best to replicate Portnoy's drumming to a tee. And while he does this very well, it hasn't exactly helped revitalise the band as all the interviews and TV spots said it would. This Portnoy-copying reflects on the album as well, with Mangini's drum parts proving very similar to what has come before (though in his defense, the album was more or less completely written before Mangini joined the band).

To summarise then, even though the tracks on the album are good (if I had to pick a favourite it would be "Outcry"), this is a fairly standard effort from Dream Theater, that I doubt will hold any classics to its name in years to come.


7/10

Turisas - The Varangian Way [2007]

This is one of the only 'jolly' folk metal albums I truly enjoy - it's a Herculean effort. Bombastic without ever becoming overly cheesy, this has the perfect combination of songs and vast epicness.

~230 kbps VBR

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Dio - Holy Diver [1983]

When I say R.I.P. this time, it's a statement echoed by millions around the world; when Ronnie James Dio, one of metal's figureheads (even if one couldn't see him in a crowd) succumbed to the clutches of death, the genre lost one of its most talented exponents. I know, therefore, that I am more than a year late with this tribute, but I find it fitting to mention it, as I post this, Dio's most famous, and to me, best, solo album.

The Killswitch Engage cover of the title track is execrable, don't listen to it (felt it inappropriate to mention that in the same paragraph as a tribute).

128 kbps

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Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond [1992]

Power metal. Often doesn't do it for me, but I will say that the German variety, which often holds more than a little speed metal influence, and not so much... faggotry, appeases me more often. And I love this album - bombast, speed, choruses, and a cover of Satan's 'Trial By Fire'. What more could you ask for?

128 kbps

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Running Wild - Port Royal [1988]

Running Wild defined 'pirate metal' (another term I refuse to use) long before Alestorm started using it as a gimmick. Another difference between the two is that Running Wild actually back up said gimmick with decent (or, on this album, great) music.

320 kbps

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Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence [1999]

Although this little gem may be outshone by the late, great Chuck Schuldiner's work in Death, it is still one of the best pieces of progressive metal around - technical yet catchy, complex compositionally yet never losing touch with the need for songs.

Mainly 160 kbps

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Alvacast - Inocente... Hasta Que Se Demuestre Lo Contrario [1989]

If anything, this proves that metal truly is a universal language. I haven't a clue what any of their lyrics mean, or indeed song titles, but their heavy Maiden stylings make me enjoy this album immensely. Missing last two tracks.

128 kbps

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Judas Priest - Painkiller [1990]

Judas Priest's other truly great album, although this came 14 years after 'Sad Wings...', the Priest was truly on top form. The title track is one of the most famous metal songs of all time, and certainly better than their other famous one, the tedious 'Breaking The Law'.

320 kbps

DMCA came calling.

Turisas - Stand Up And Fight [2011]

This is probably on par with that Hammerfall one for the most ridiculous, overblown album I have posted here. Nearly all of the folk influence has gone from Turisas' sound, and the cheese has been cranked up to max. Still, it's great fun. and highly recommended.

~235 kbps VBR

DMCA came calling.

Hammerfall - Glory To The Brave [1997]

Like many of you, I'm sure, I used to think that enjoying a HammerFall album instantly made one gay. Now, this was some of the best fun I've had in a long time, and I don't appear to be developing any lusts for the camp or the butch, so I can attest that this is safe. Includes a Warlord cover (to the ill-educated, that's Doro Pesch).

128 kbps (sorry again)

Link was taken down. Comment on this if you would like to see a reupload.