As opposed to the last two years, the race was a two-horse race for the longest time, but in the end we had the clearest winner in recent years. So without any further ado, here is the best 2018 had to offer!
TMO’s Top 30 of 2018
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FEATURED REVIEWS
Traveler – Traveler
Blinding Light…How it Burns my Eyes
Last year, I wrote glowingly of Traveler’s debut demo, consisting of 3 supremely excellent traditional metal songs, including what I considered to be undoubtedly the best trad metal song of 2018, “Starbreaker.” Traveler has wasted no time in parlaying the success and critical praise for their demo into a debut album. All three of the songs from the demo are present on the album, which, at first glance, both made sense to me and had me worried. It makes sense: that’s what demos are for! Bands record demos so that they can get some hype, feel out interest in their music, and relay that into more high-profile releases. It had me worried: What if the three demo tracks are all they have in them? What if they’re just going to fold in a bunch of filler and half-baked songs with those three amazing demo tracks, resulting in a mediocre album with extremely high highs?
Luckily, my concerns were in vain—Traveler’s debut is a towering example of modern trad and an early—strong—contender for album of the year 2019.
The album begins with what I consider Traveler’s signature song, “Starbreaker.” It’s really kind of hard to overstate how excellent this song is, with its incredibly catchy vocal melodies (“How it Burns my eyeeeeeees,” will never fail to get me stoked), cavalcade of melodic heavy metal riffs, and overall balls-out energy and power. I don’t know if there are any traditional metal songs released in the past several years that surpass what Traveler has accomplished with this song. Since I had listened to the demo tracks about 13,000 times by the time I listened to the debut, what I was really concerned about here was not whether the songs were good—I already knew they were fantastic—I was concerned about any changes to the songs from demo form, where they were basically perfect. Thankfully, Traveler does not change the production very much from the demo. The album may sound a bit more polished than the demo, but they didn’t shine these songs up to high gloss simply because this is a full-length instead of a demo. The production is still gritty while allowing room for all of the instruments—and vocals—to shine.
After the utter perfection of “Starbreaker,” we are treated to the first non-demo track, “Street Machine,” which is a driving anthem with a unique structure. The song presents a first verse and chorus—interrupted by a brief but searing solo—before centering around an epic instrumental section in the middle of the song, then doubling back to the verse and chorus. My worries faded immediately upon hearing “Street Machine” as to whether Traveler had more in them than the demo. Holy shit this song is excellent. Next we’ve got another demo track, the parable of a life lived violently, “Behind the Iron,” which features a tricky dance between chunky tremolo riffing and balletic melodic riffs—and some of the best vocal melodies on the album.
Speaking of vocal melodies, JP Abboud (Formerly of Borrowed Time and currently also of Gatekeeper) continues his reign of terror on this album. He modulates his voice all over the map depending on the circumstances, from professorial baritones to throat-shredding, Painkiller-esque screams. The man has an unbelievable voice and showcases why he is one of the best modern trad vocalists across the album.
Getting back to tracks, “Konamized” is a brief and poetic instrumental a la “Transylvania” or (funny enough) “Transylvanian Twilight” by Wolf. It’s a rip-roaring good time. “Up to You,” the shortest track with vocals on the album, puts forth some great guitar interplay between hammer-on riffs and chunky down-picked notes, followed by some awesome galloping riffs that are sure to give you mean face (that face you make when a song makes you want to pull out a laser gun and fight intergalactic crime). Might as well mention the incredible solo on “Up to You,” which is by no means out of place on this album. I am consistently amazed at the quality, style, and skill contained in Traveler’s guitar solos. Every song has at least one—and oftentimes quite a few—shockingly good solos.
“Fallen Heroes” is the only track that employs a mid-paced groove for most of the song’s duration, which gives a nice breather in the middle of a frantic album. Of course, right in the middle there is a frenzied solo section with some awe-inspiring militaristic riffs before locking back into the groove, which adds a lot of color to the song. It also sounds more inspired by poppy metal of the 80’s, another unique feature in the context of the album. The slower grooves give the drums a chance to shine more than they do on the rest of the album. The song’s also got some interesting philosophical content about what actually makes a hero and humanity’s interesting fetish with the dead and their merits. The penultimate track, “Mindless Maze,” begins with the only clean-guitars of the album, but they make their mark. The clean melodies of the electric guitars are circled by some beautiful bass soloing that lulls one into a false sense of peace before the main riff slaughters any semblance of a break. “…Maze” is a dizzying display of riffing prowess and a master-class in varying vocal lines to create a dramatic and emotional ride.
I didn’t think anything could follow “Mindless Maze,” but, shockingly, Traveler found the perfect closer in “Speed Queen,” which sounds like the love-child of late seventies Priest and Painkiller-era Priest. The chorus could easily be Rob Halford in his prime, and after the second chorus a couple chords ring out that signal something big is coming, and it does. The boys bust out the best riff that Riot forgot to write for Rock City, followed by some of the most righteous solos on the album. “Speed Queen” is like the late 70’s were teleported to space and given a makeover by aliens traveling at light-speed to another galaxy.
FYI, this is the demo version. No new version of Starbreaker is available that I know of yet…
Though I’ve focused mostly on the riffing and vocals, the bass and drums play an integral role in this album. The bass tone is extremely aggressive, a metallic battering ram jumbling beneath the riffs on every song. I didn’t think the drumming was all that special on the demo, but listening with renewed ears to this album, the drums are filled with beautiful cymbal flourishes and subtle shifts that change the tone of songs on a dime. The rhythm section is essential to the sound of this heavy metal behemoth.
Everything about this album is phenomenal. Every song has several adrenaline-pumping vocal lines, an avalanche of riffs, complementary bass work, and propulsive drums. I doubt anyone could possibly be disappointed with what Traveler have produced here after their promising demo. This feels like a band who took their influences, honored them, and created something that feels both familiar and completely new at the same time. They completely live up to the hype, creating what I believe is destined to be a modern trad classic.
Marius Danielsen – Legend Of Valley Doom, Part II
If you don’t believe, then you can just leave!
You listening, Timo Tolkki? This is how you do it! None of that ‘Avalon’ bollocks… Norwegian family duo Marius & Peter Danielsen combined their admirable talents to create the mythical Legend Of Valley Doom back in 2015. The power metal community breathed a collective sigh of relief when it turned out it wasn’t shit (as these major projects so often are). That same community are now cheering in jubilation at the sequel to that immense LP: Legend Of Valley Doom, Part II. Equally as immense, and surpassing anything achieved by Rhapsody Of Fire in the past half a decade, this album is a monolith of high-quality symphonic power metal which displays supreme skills in songwriting, storytelling and musical virtuosity. Buckle up, this is quite a journey…
Using the Rhapsody comparison again, one should not approach this imagining Power Of The Dragonflame – Part II. Marius Danielsen’s new album does not fire on all cylinders with a thousand tons of dragonfire. It is more akin to 2005’s Symphony Of Enchanted Lands – Part II, where grand orchestrations, interludes and narrations take the forefront. This is by no means a criticism (S.O.E.L. 2 is actually my favourite Rhapsody album), it only displays Danielsen’s determination to stick to his guns and make this vision his own. The more hardened listeners will complain that there are too many ‘soft’ numbers, but when the ‘soft’ numbers are as tender as “Gates Of Eunomia”, or as breathtakingly gorgeous as “Under The Silver Moon”, then what is there to complain about, apart from being close-minded?
The interlude tracks, too, not only have their place but are essential to the storytelling aspect of the record. Keeping up with the Tolkien-esque narrative is a fun activity in itself and adds an extra dimension to each listen. I especially love the Elven king (Olaf Hayer!) being a total dick to the main characters in “Princess Lariana’s Forest”. This is not to say Legend… doesn’t blaze away with true European power metal majesty. Oh boy, when the time is right, Danielsen absolutely rips through the speakers with such belters as “Rise Of The Dark Empire”, “Temple Of The Ancient Gods” and “Visions Of The Night” which display furious double-kick attacks, blazing fretwork and hooks catchier than the plague. Of the up-tempo vibrant numbers, the glorious “Angel Of Light” is a delightful highlight. Showcasing the great Michael Kiske at the peak of his abilities, it’s a soaring power metal hymn for the ages!
The multi-faceted gems like “Crystal Mountains” and the bard-like folk epic “Tower Of Knowledge” are where the variety of this record will attract the more open-minded. Exploring many emotions from crawling menace to anthemic glory. The massive guest-list (with the likes of Steve Williams, Alessio Garavello, Tim Ripper Owens and Olaf Hayer) gives this a party-like, almost Avantasia-esque vibe – though I do think Ripper was underused, and some of the vocalists are a tiny bit dodgy. Any minor gripes fall under the ‘bloated’ category – where a small part of my brain thinks this could have been a few minutes shorter overall. But if one simply sits back and absorbs themselves in the cheesy atmosphere of this epic, Marius Danielsen’s Legend Of Valley Doom, Part II will whet the appetite of many. Applause to you, my friend! Can’t wait for the next one.
Ancient Bards – Origine – The Black Crystal Sword Saga: Part II
Now it is time for you to know about its genesis…
In the wake of the farcical dissolution of Rhapsody Of Fire, thank heavens we have bands like Ancient Bards. In my experience, one of the most respected acts to emerge from the symphonic power metal underground – courtesy of the ever-reliable Limb Music. The Italians’ debut, The Alliance of the Kings, back in 2010 was the first instalment in The Black Crystal Sword Saga and remains one of the finest albums of that year in the power metal genre. Here in 2019, nine years later (five years after their last full-length), the Bards return with Origine: The Black Crystal Sword Saga – Part II. The storytelling characteristic – complete with narration – is stronger than ever, the artwork is phenomenal, and the music is no less than stellar. Probably their finest work to date.
However, this isn’t an album full of instant hits. It’s the general timbre that will draw in listeners. Aided by the amazingly clear and bright production quality, Ancient Bards provide a rich layer of grand orchestration undercut by brilliantly wholesome and driving power metal – at times, stonkingly heavy! The choirs are well-placed and thicken the texture to grandiose levels, and the occasional harsh vocals are done with class, adding an extra dimension to the music. Both “Oscurità” and “Impious Dystopia” are instant highlights due to this aspect alone. But I am in no way disparaging the talents of Sara Squadrini, whose angelic vocals soar among the clouds with sheer majesty. Just listen to her utterly nailing the final chorus of “Aureum Legacy” – man, that is just glorious!
Those looking for the instantaneous catchiness of anthems from the previous Black Crystal Sword record are looking in the wrong place. There’s no “Birth Of Evil” here (though “Home Of The Rejects” comes close). This is thinking-man’s power metal; each cut containing progressive tinges that require multiple listens to be fully rewarding. The ebb and flow from pounding chugs to hymnal refrains is flawlessly executed and never leaves the listener either bored or worried. Big stylistic changes are handled with sophistication and control. The jig-like “Fantasy’s Wings” is just as perfectly managed as the beautifully sweeping “Light” (incidentally one of the best metal ‘ballads’ in recent years).
Of course, the jewel in the crown of Origine is the 15-minute finale “The Great Divide”. Split into three movements, but never exhibiting segregative qualities, this epic masterpiece takes the listener on a musical journey through peaks and valleys, highs and lows, replete with memorable riffs and admirable vocal athletics. When the narration brings the whole affair to a close, one feels exhaustingly satisfied. Ancient Bards have made the ultimate statement on staying relevant in a sub-genre too often maligned. It’s no small feat to create a symphonic power metal album with as much class and elegance as this. It’s literally the first week in January, but I feel so confident in declaring this among the best power metal albums of 2019. No doubt.
NEWS
TMO x10: Covered up – Iron Maiden “The Trooper”
The world of metal would not be complete without cover versions, right? And the world of metal would most definitely not be the same (or complete) without Iron Maiden. So today we are taking a look at 10 very different cover versions of the same track, in this case classical Iron Maiden with “The Trooper”!
Secret Steel – Black Metal 1: An Unholy Union
Shredding: Rammstein
Larry breaks down each album by the German industrial goliaths to decide which one sits on top.
An Interview with Clandestine Blaze
Interview with Mikko Aspa of Clandestine Blaze
Conducted by Colonel Para Bellum of Blackdeath.
PokéMetal – Gotta bang ’em all!
Thrash Metal Year In Review – 2017
Larry rounds up all the decent (and some not-so-decent) thrash releases for the headbang-happy year of 2017.
Death Metal Year in Review – 2017
This was a banner year for death metal by any measure.
Here are some of our favorite death metal releases from 2017.
Jonathan’s Top 50 of 2017
The diverse spectrum that encompasses metal music’s many sub-genres could be likened to various mythical races united under two opposing banners, staring each other down as they make ready to charge and turn the field red with the other’s blood. From one year to the next, the advantage may tip from one side to the other, but in the grand scheme of their eternal conflict, the forces of light and darkness have tended to be equally matched. 2017 saw the forces of melody and order take the advantage in the eyes of the reclusive bard that tells this end of the year tale, though naturally his is not the final word on such things, and other codices in the grand archives of metallic exploits deserve your consideration. Still, these are the 50 acts of heroism that defined the year, because too much has occurred to settle for a mere 30.
The Metal Observer’s Top 30 albums of 2017
2017 has proven to offer up the tightest race we have seen in a long time in the quest for the gold! So without any further ado, here is the creme de la creme of the year!