War, Romans, Greeks, epic battles, pirates, Lord Of The Rings, Werewolves, just some of the things that power metal bands take influence from. Many do so lyrically but others such as say... Powerwolf... fully commit to the bit. So too do new German power metal act Dominum, their gimmick is Zombies, the undead, slow moving nemesis of so many George A Romero movies, the whole feast for the living dead curated by Dr Dead, aka songwriter/producer Felix Heldt (Feuerschwanz & Visions Of Atlantis) who takes the vocals in this new project.
It's a 13 track album that features three covers; You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) by Dead Or Alive, Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy and Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning. These are apparently Zombie Metal versions but are basically power metal covers of the songs. They aren't really needed as I'd have preferred 10 originals and save the covers for an EP/single etc.
Anyway to those originals and they are tough, darker edged power metal tracks with cinematic/theatrical elements such as narration and the bombast of bands such as Powerwolf, Felix is joined by Jacob Hansen, who gives the album it's bouncy mix/master job, the immediate impact of Immortalis Dominum evident that the band have crafted tracks that are slick and direct. There's a conceptual storyline that Dr Dead delivers with gruff vocals as his unnamed, undead ghouls, peel off power metal riffs and solos with aplomb.
You can see from their horror movie inspired videos, that they will possibly more effective as a band on a live stage but have built a solid foundation of songs with this debut album, the sing along choruses of tracks such as Danger Danger, the title track and Frankenstein will be ringing out on stages across Europe in 2024. 8/10
Lord Of The Lost - Weapons Of Mass Seduction (Napalm Records) [Mark Young]
Starting the new year with a 2-disc collection of covers, which in their own words honours Michael Jackson, Judas Priest and more (kind of like an advert from K-Tel) that span multiple genres. Each of the songs will be familiar to some of you, and it certainly doesn’t stop in one place. Some of them I know, others I haven’t heard before given the genre and there are a couple of artists on here that I cannot stand and so will be skipping to avoid being negative for negative’s sake.
What we have is collection that spans from the 80’s into present day. Some of them are spot on, unfortunately others aren’t. Over the 22 tracks here, it's apparent that they could have dropped a few of them and come out with a collection of near-essential covers that could be held up against the original material. Again, this is purely my opinion and is nothing against the actual recording itself. Presented below is a brief extract of those which are just top-class and give the original a new spin.
Shock To The System – Billy Idol; A great way to start with a song that lends itself nicely to being given a shine. Vocal delivery keeps that energetic Idol phrasing going and its apparent that the songs they have chosen that mean something to them. Here its updated without losing any of the power the original had and is a proper opener.
Smalltown Boy – Bronski Beat; Now this is a class song, and they give it a darkened polish. His vocals really work when you compare against the original’s falsetto delivery. This really works, that dark touch bringing out the anxiety and fear that was conveyed in the accompanying video for the original video release.
Turbo Lover – Judas Priest; Going for a track that taken from a maligned album (Turbo) certainly gets them points for originality and they manage to bend it to their will. Now I have never heard the original, and to honest I’m not in a rush to do so given that this is accepted to be the best song from it, but the Lords make it theirs, almost as though it was an original composition.
Hymn – Ultravox; Released one of the greatest songs that never hit number one, but this means nothing to me…Again upping the guitars whilst keeping the grandiose melody that Ultravox were famous for. There is that darker undertone running through it, which I would have loved to have heard more of as they did on Smalltown Boy.
(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight (ft Anica Russo) – Cutting Crew; Now they drop this rascal, the dual vocals coming in and give it the necessary lift and they complement each other so well. This benefits from little touches within the build without losing any of its power. It’s a great song made better here.
The Look (ft Blümchen) – Roxette; Now this is one of those songs that is just infectious, representing one of the best songs to come out of Sweden that doesn’t have an HM-2 attached to it. They absolutely nail it here, knowing that they really couldn’t change it for the better. The dual vocals are on point and it’s a cracker.
Ordinary Town – Celebrate The Nun; This is another belter, taking a high-slice of German synth pop and giving it that tweak, it just flies and plays to their strengths. It shows their pop sensibilities off to a tee.
Judas - Lady Gaga; Now they have got the bit between the teeth. There is an energy running through this, and adding the heavy guitars into the mix gives you that impression that they could do this live, and it would be a blast.
Children Of The Dammed – Iron Maiden; Another inspired choice, that lends itself to be given a contemporary update which they do so well. The arrangement keeps the epic feel, adding the synths and strings which just shows what they can do once they let themselves go. Excellent stuff and a standout track.
Bad Romance – Lady Gaga; Woah, now this is given a sleazy make-over whilst maintaining the identity of the song. It has that feel to it, central riff given some solid, pounding guitars and in much the same way as Children Of The Dammed shows just what they can do to make-over the source material in such a way that it becomes their own. Its positively filthy.
It’s A Sin – Pet Shop Boys; This is a stormer, another slice of when they get it right, they really excel. Throwing triplets in here is one of the great touches they add, and it becomes a monster of a thing that more than stands up to the original.
Ordinary World – Duran Duran; Of all the songs here, this and It’s A Sin are probably my favourites. They have given this a harder edge and a sense of melancholic heaviness. It’s a great closing track and is more palatable than the original.
Some absolute crackers on here show off just what they can do. However, some of the choices have such a recognisable arrangement they can't do anything more with them other than just play it almost straight and they feel flat compared to others as they are too restrictive to allow a radical make-over. It could be that I’m being overly critical of what a cover should be, but I expect it to give me something more to make it essential to me. Of the ones listed above, these were my personal favourites out of 22, bearing in mind there were two songs I skipped on principle (MJ, Keane).
Not everyone has the same taste which is a good thing. Others may find the songs I left out as being stand-outs as opposed to those such as Bronski Beat or Pet Shop Boys. All of the songs I heard are not half-hearted or presented in a throw-away manner its just that these hit the best with me. Its worth a look, especially if you dig with my comments above. 7/10
Panzerchrist - All Witches Shall Burn EP (Emanzipation Productions) [Mark Young]
Starting the year off with some blackened death metal seems to be the only way to go. Dating back to 1993, with breaks in between, Panzerchrist have returned, energised and with a new EP set to remind you that they are still a viable force to be reckoned with in extreme metal circles. The EP comes after 2023’s Last Of A Kind which I hadn’t heard but looking online was received enthusiastically. Maintaining that line-up here, they drop a short but savage set of songs that move beyond brutality for brutality’s sake.
Sabbath Of The Rat is included here, as a link to Last Of A Kind and detonates, using rapid trem picking against some of the most propulsive drumming you will hear. Vocals are evilly provided by new vocalist Sonja Rosenlund Ahl who gravitates between those deep sounds and screams, adding an urgency to the already frantic music behind. Its not all brutality, an atmospheric break allows for some class melody lines to be dropped in just before the (admittedly) expected foot down to close out the song. Its full on, possessing a dark momentum and its delicious. No quarter given and although its nothing new it doesn’t stop it from hitting hard.
A Stone For The Graveless changes tack, with some industrial noise and disembodied screams announcing a slower, darker intent. This one delights in that slower tempo, discordant harmony lines that allow for them to up that speed without it becoming just a bpm fest. This is a ripper of a track, fully embracing that blackened motif and allowing their sense of melody to come through. Again, Sonja’s voice is in full force here, but there has to be a shout out for the drumming on here, it’s just anchoring everything and Danni Jelsgaard, its hat’s off to you. Again, they deploy some rapid-fire guitar to satisfy to ensure it ends on a frantic note.
Satan Is Among Us, leads us into a blast fest, it’s a straightforward boot to the face that combines what they have done with the preceding tracks, marrying melody and heaviness to suit. It does what it needs to do but to be fair is a little dull compared to Sabbath Of The Rat. Its full of trem picked moments which is always good but just falls slightly.
The final song, She’s A Witch is more a collection of soundscapes, operatic vocals, and repeated refrains. It does show another side to them in terms of the arrangement especially acting as a nightmarish soundtrack, but it doesn’t go anywhere.
As EP’s go, it’s a solid three-song blast of some quality extreme metal that will satisfy fans of their last album. I have seen online that some long-time fans feel as though their sound has moved away from what it was originally, but surely that is just a natural progression of a band not wanting to re-tread what they have done before which I think is admirable. There is nothing weak or soft about their sound or means of attack and it feels that if they can maintain this line-up then their next album should be a stormer 7/10
Vocifer - Jurupary (Alone Records) [Matt Bladen]
Vocifer are a Brazilian power metal who bring the tales of Amazonian folklore and culture, based around the god Jurupari who is the basis of all evil according to legend.
All the songs are built around these concepts interpreting then through rampagin power metal which reminds me a lot of Angra and Sharman, bassist Luis Mariutti appearing on Life has been in both bands. Musically Vocifer are very similar to their Brazilian counterparts, using the full speed on Vanity On Disguise and Bridge To The Skies, but then also slow things down with the emotional balladry on Rain Of Doubts as they bring some progressive touches too on Wings Of Hope.
Mariutti is not the only guest on this record as Thiago Bianchi (Noturnall), Daisa Munhoz (Vandroya, Soulspell, Twilight Aura), Daniel Mazza (Banda Inutilismo), Fábio Laguna (Angra, Edu Falaschi, Freakeys) and Tambores do Tocantins all make themselves an important part of this record. The Brazilian power metal scene is very important to this album but there's also influences from Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius too.
Jurupary is a great follow up to their debut and will hopefully put Vocifer in the minds of power metal fans outside of their native land. 7/10
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