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POWER METAL MONUMENTS
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CRIMSON GLORY
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CANDLEMASS
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SAVATAGE
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MANILLA ROAD
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WARLORD
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by Alex Savatianos
This album represents the premature period of the band, which evolved to one of the best prog groups ever. And it proves that Ryche have been good in whatever they did. Lyrical, powerful, sentimental power metal, with Tate reaching the stars with his voice! Almost all the songs here are classics, with the hymn "Take Hold Of The Flame" haunting most Ryche fas even until now. I know that there are places in Europe where fans have raised huge placates asking from the band to play it in their shows.... with the band responding to their will. The album has this unique quality to make your soul ascend. The melodies make you feel complete. Of course the band didn't ever play again this kind of music, as they kept trying to evolve their sound with each record. So "The Warning" is a unique sample Ryche power metal material.
The title of the album says it all:
the music must have been transcended here by somewhere else, beyond our galaxy! The mysterious atmosphere is supported by the fact that no one had seen the faces of band's members as they used to wear silver masks (in this second album they covered half their face). The artistic perfection of the band was scary for 1988, the rhythm section resembled heavy artillery, guitar riffs, harmonies and solos were so "twisted" and lyrical, but possibly the most telling thing was the singer: Midnight. A remarkable voice, one of the best we've ever heard in the metal scene in general, that had the ability to move from the highest to the lowest scales in no time with the effect to haunt you forever. The album received unexpectable success, but unfortunately record label's games disoriented the band with bad results in their next effort. "Lonely In Love..."!!!
Masterpiece! This album's picture should be in all dictionaries next to the word "inspiration". I still cannot comprehend to what state of affairs were the band's members when composing this tremendous piece of work. Andre Matos admitted years later that it would be almost impossible even for them to release such an album in the future again. And it's true: albums as such appear once in a decade. Being a massive power metal fan I can assure you that I haven't listened to anything so innovative in the genre since then... 7 years now. This is not plain power metal, this is a mixture of metal, latin, folk and classical music with no equal. It's such a same for all of us that the band split into two. Nevertheless "Holy Land" brought refreshment to our music then, and still stands as a tall beacon into the night.
My goodness, I feel so little when trying to describe Manowar's music of the first four albums. The only reason that "Hail To England" is presented here is that it is my favourite, otherwise I find it equal with "Battle Hymns", "Into Glory Ride", and "Sign Of The Hammer". What I wrote for Helloween, stands for Manowar as well: they created a whole new genre by itself. No one had ever played this way before (and according to my humble opinion no one ever did): you have the feeling that you are going to battle, that the roar of the fighting is next to you... you can smell the blood of your enemies spilled! DeMaio's compositions are eternal, Eric is one of the best singers in heavy metal history (and possibly the one with the best articulation), Ross inspires the army with his leads and Scott demolishes all enemies' shields. I never understood their later obsession to prove how "true" they are and the alteration of their music. Brothers you have led us to victory once and we keep our swords sheathed for when you call us to war again. You have nothing to prove to anyone. Until then "Each Dawn I Die". Hail!
The ultimate boulder! If their first album defined the doom sound, this album established it. In addition it is the first appearance of the vocalist-phenomenon Messiah Marcolin and his operatic vocals. Every song is a classic, but the main contribution is that "Nightfall" has been the beginning for a whole genre: doom metal. Leif Edling, the main composer and mastermind of the band, stretched the limits of his imagination by combining the heavy, gloomy Sabbath sound with Manowar's magnificence. The dark atmosphere of the album (supplemented by the glorious cover-painting) works as a purgatory and leaves you with a feeling of relief at the end. The lyrics are channelled in the same direction: sentenced to death find deliverance, noble feelings of redemption, divine powers save all sinners. Nothing is the same in our music since the release of this album. Check all their first 4 works.
Perfection in the middle of the madness! For sure it would need some "twisted" musicians to create this insane, haunting masterpiece. After the silly "Fight For The Rock", Sava took themselves seriously and realised that they had responsibilities to the metal music community. Paul O'Neil's contribution here is beneficial, as he managed to release all this power and inspiration the band held inside. So Sava composed one of the most delirious, paranoid power metal masterpieces. The rhythm section of Middleton/Wacholz plays for the first time in a Sava album a significant role, leading the tracks. Criss's (R.I.P.) riffs-manifestos and thunderous solos are as if conceived in the mind of a lunatic, genius fairy. Criss has been one of the most talented and inspired guitarists the metal scene ever had, something that made his loss unbearable, knowing how much more he could offer. But above all stands John's delirious voice, as if it belongs to an elfin in despair. After this album Sava changed the direction of its music, providing us with a series of monumental albums, yet away from the plain power sound. However "Hall Of The Mountain King" still stands (along with "Transcendence") as an album coming from a different dimension.
What can I write about these two albums now? Helloween in those two concept albums accomplished something that other bands work a carrier for:
they created their own
genre in metal music, filled vast arenas in their shows, reached the ultimate limits of artistic creation and much more. You power metal fans, never forget that what you listen to nowadays (especially in Euro-power metal) might have never existed if it wasn't for Helloween. They were the first ones who used the double bass drum this way, the hymnical guitar melodies, the high vocals and eventually this noble feeling of ascension that is born inside us when we listen to "Eagle Fly Free" for example. The fact that they didn’t become the new Iron Maiden - as they were called back in 1988 - is one of the biggest wrongs in the history of music. But unfortunately it seems that they didn't know then what they had in their hands. Pumpkin fly free!!!
A cult band, a cult monument, which deserves to stand among the best power albums. This album is in essence Manilla Road's turning towards the epic, majestic sound. I know that it is a love it or hate it band, mainly because of the voice of the mastermind Mark Shelton, but I doubt that any conscious power fan would ever doubt that this album is a masterpiece. Fast songs are meddled with mid tempo and emotive anthems, like "The Ninth Wave". The riffs are as if made in hell, while the rhythm section destroys everything blocking the way. Poor speakers... Shelton's voice makes the sound characteristic, and the moody production the whole album a must cult. Until it was released in CD a couple of years ago, it was a collector's item (and still is). The amazing cover is one more plus for the album. This is epic metal made for men. No trinkets, decorations and shit! This is war!
It's good that this album has been finally released in CD, as metal fans have been deprived of one of the best power records for years (the LP was a collector's item). Steele in this second album don't have the sound of their later ones (especially from "The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell" onwards), rather present a more straight forward approach. Heavy, epic tracks with the former guitarist Jack Star delivering some old-fashioned riffs, bridges and solos. Defeis's lyrics are characteristic and expressive once more, making the songs even more powerful. I'm sure they didn't understand what kind of masterpiece they delivered then and how much inspiration it caused to the next generation. Don't forget that in 1983 power metal was still unknown - with the exception of Manowar. That's the reason the album has many rock and straight metal elements, but songs like the self titled and "The Redeemer" outlines the epic feeling to the maximum. Despite the troubles, the band keeps delivering amazing albums until now.
One of the albums I would chose if I had to take only ten albums with me in a deserted island. The only reason that this album is preferred here over "Deliver Us" is because it has more tracks, giving thus a more complete presentation of the band. People familiar with the Grande Rock e-zine, know that when it comes to Warlord for me words seem to lose their meaning. I just cannot describe the majesty of their music. I doubt that any other band managed to produce so much lyricism via its songs. Feelings of ascension, deliverance, nostalgia, hope, redemption, fear of the unknown, failure, and success flood every song. The singer plays a secondary role to the music. Here the case is the constant battle between the guitarist Bill Tsamis and the drummer Mark Zonder - the best drummer in the universe -, which makes the solos of the album an experience for life. Unfortunately Warlord has been disbanded after this album, for various reason, leaving a huge gap behind it. Luckily they have been reunited last year, producing an excellent album.