Tag Archives: Power Metal

Friday Morning Metal – Crying Steel – You Got the Look

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Oooh this week we’ve got some Metal Bolognese, it’s You Got the Look from Crying Steel. They’ve been playing metal as long as I’ve been around, and that’s pretty cool. You can tell they aren’t baloney. The band has a solid classic sound and apparently sing about love, feelings, and sadness. Those are good vibes to draw on. Waiting for Encylopaedia Metallum to cite a band’s themes as “carpet installation, dog training, and vcr repair” like they learned to rock via Sally Struthers.

The song starts off with some solid hooky guitars and stompy drums before the singer gives us a good falsetto AWWWWRIIIIIIIGHT. You can’t go wrong starting a song with guitars and AWWWWRIIIIIIIGHT. The chorus is fun, you can tell they’re Bolognese when the singer says “You got the lewwwk.” About 2/3 through there’s a pretty solid solo which transitions into another solo. Double solo! This song rips and shreds and feels very much like it’s from 1985. Which is cool, there was some good metal back then.

The video is a lot of almost like animatics of a space lady trying to find a band to sign. There’s some shots of the band playing live on her viewscreens, so you can see just how awesome these guys are. In her effort to find the most rocking band ever, she happens upon a dork playing a grandspas guitar next to a campfire, which definitely does not rock. Eventually she finds Crying Steel and realizes they’re the band she has to sign to whatever space music label she represents. Their sound is pretty out of this world.

Friday Morning Metal – Leatherwitch – Heroes and the Dice

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Woo shreddy lady metal featuring ladies! This week we’re listening to Heroes and the Dice, from Katowice, Silesia. Silesia is apparently a region that covers a bit of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. I just learned that. So now you get to too! The band was started by Marta Gabriel, who was in Crystal Viper and also worked as a session musician with like Manilla Road and stuff. And she shreds! Also it’s spelled Leatherwitch, not leatherwich, which I assume is what happens to a hoagie if you leave it out in the sun too long.

The song starts off with some plinky plunky grandspas guitars before the drums come marching in. Definitely has the vibes of a Maiden song that would be the first song out the gate live. The pivot to chuggy guitars and big drums is pretty great. Marta’s got a great voice that soars overs the melody real well. The solo is fun, with crazy noodling and soary interludes. The drums are tomtastic and ready to guide many a runner to a huge PR on their next race.

The video is a combo of her performing along with clips of what looks to be wizards playing D&D in the woods. Or at least they’re rolling dice in the woods. I think they’re magical scrying dice or something. Then I think a dude gets stabbed with an enchanted dagger which someone buries on a beach. Maybe they were playing dice over who got stabbed. Or who had to do the stabbing. Marta’s white leather fingerless gloves are pretty badass, and there’s plenty of opportunities to watch her shred out. The placement of the lights behind her does make it look like she’s standing in front of a Jeep Wrangler while singing. But all in all it’s a fun song and video!

Friday Morning Metal – Visigoth – Warrior Queen

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Happy Friday, here’s some power metal coming straight out of Salt Lake City, it’s Visigoth’s Warrior Queen. I’ve talked about these guys previously with their song Dungeon Master, about guys who like… battle orcs and have maximum charisma. This time it’s about a lady who’s badass and has a sword & stuff.

The song is pretty straight down the fairway power metal, kicking off with a drum fill before the singer shows off his pipes. It’s got a solid chugga guitar line during the verses, putting it right at home with like Dream Evil and whatnot. There’s a solid solo halfway through the song, chock full of finger taps and sweeps picks. Seems like most bands, if they do a solo, put it halfway through. I guess that gives the band a breather. They get an extra breather with a big epic breakdown to let the singer play flute. He plays flute you guys. And sings about marching through the fog. The big vocals transition to a good shouty part that I assume gets the crowd ready for huge moshing right at the end.

The video cuts between the band on a soundstage, and the titular warrior queen standing alone and ready to fight some guy who has a flail or something. Oh and she defeats a king who looks like he’s king of the comic shop down the street. The vocalist seems like a nice guy but he also looks like “we have Halford at home” with his studded jacket. Oooh there is a bit of some rock guitar posing.

Mega Colossus – Razor City

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Happy Friday! Enjoy some bigass metal from Mega Colossus, this time it’s Razor City. These guys are from Raleigh, NC, and have been shredding faces since 2005. Although for 2005-2016 they were just Colossus. I guess in 2016 they upgraded. And whatever upgrade they did it is well worth it! These guys bring the metal that should be blasting out of every skate shop or dingy dive bar covered in stickers. They also have an album called “… and the Rift of the Pan-Dimensional Undergods” which is pretty spot on for a metal band.

The song kicks off with some staccato drums before a big metal scream. Also they’re slicing their way through the madness. I really dig the vocalist yelling RAZOR CITAAAAAAYYYYY before the first of many finger tappy solos. The vocals are not exactly what I’d expect on top of this kind of metal, but then he yells RAZOR CITAAAYYYY and I understand completely. The drums drive their way through the song, and into your heart. This is one of those “if I’m on a bike ride I’m putting up some PRs” type of songs. I feel like these guys had a checklist of awesome metal tropes to include in the song and took care of them with aplomb. Chock full of solos, chugga riffs, harmonizing, and more, this song rips so hard.

If Beavis & Butthead still covered music videos, this would’ve been in rotation. It cuts between the band playing in a club and clips from Skateboard Samurai 2. He starts off fighting a dude who looks kinda like him, and then he moves on to the Skooter Boys! There’s also a witch lady with a scrying orb and a little demon guy who looks like a Portuguese Gremlin. Oh dang guitar posing during the breakdown! And then a great twist at the end. I want to see more of Skateboard Samurai. He looks tough and awesome.

Friday Morning Metal – Aeon Gods – Reborn to Light

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Happy Friday, here’s Germany’s own Aeon Gods bringing the epic power metal that is part of a balanced breakfast. Pretty sure Colonel Jack O’Neil and Dr. Daniel Jackson rocked out to this stuff on that Stargate planet. They seem fairly epic and whatnot. I guess all their albums are about ancient gods, which seems like a rich vein to tap for epic metal. I hope they have Tobin’s Spirit Guide, so they can shout out more obscure deities.

A solid drum fill kicks the song into gear before hearing the main melody. It’s a rollicking riff with some big keyboards adding some extra oomph. I wonder if metal becomes epic when there’s a keyboard involved. I enjoy the vocalist, he’s a little growly while still hitting those soaring moments in the chorus. Also I think he pronounces thousand as “toe-sand.” The solo starts off a little slow before getting some sweeps picks and gnarly scales going. Just in time for the breakdown prior to the coda. I wonder if they planned to do a key change there but thought Alestorm had taken all of them.

The video takes place in the Duat, which is apparently the Egyptian underworld. Their outfits are pretty cool, like they landed on the Stargate planet with the lasers and stuff. I know the Stargate planet’s like sorta Egyptian, but these guys look… space Egyptian. Maybe it’s because the guitarist has one of those no headstock guitars, it looks fancy. Also there’s a dude with a ram head riding a boat, he looks heavily computer graphical. I kept waiting for him to do something, but he just kind of rode the boat for a while. Maybe they ran out of computer budget to make their outfits extra tough.

Friday Morning Metal – Tad Morose – Beneath A Veil Of Crying Souls

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Time for some bombastic power metal, from Sweden’s own Tad Morose. I wouldn’t say these guys are morose at all, they seem epic. I wonder if there’s a band called “Slightly Epic.” These guys have been shredding since 1991, led by Christer “Krunt” Andersson. Krunt doesn’t seem like a good nickname. I bet it’s totally chill in Sweden, but I’d totally call someone a Krunt if they were being rude. Or it could be a euphemism for eye gunk. “Hey Jim, you take a nap? You got a lot of krunt on your eye.” Beneath a Veil of Crying Souls is a hell of a title, like if you didn’t know the band you could imagine it’s going to be screamo or math rock or something. Or a Falconer album title.

The song kicks off with a great guitar melody before the singer gets going. He’s got a solid set of pipes, alternating between kinda growly and soaring. The rest of the band harmonizes well on the chorus, when it sounds a bit more power metally. There’s a solid chugga breakdown halfway through, right before the noodliest metal solo I’ve heard in a minute. I bet that guitarist is named De Cecco with how full of noodles he is. The song ends kind of abruptly, or at least they do a final chorus and then there’s like a couple measures and that’s that. Regardless, it’s shreddy and not very morose.

The video is pretty much them performing in a really dark church, or in front of some faux stained glass light boxes. Either way, there’s a lot of staring down the barrel from the whole band. I think they’re trying to show off how tough they look playing. Which they do look quite tough. Especially the bassist. I bet he did a Drillbit Taylor back in the day. Pretty sure if I was in a band and they wanted me to look right at the camera while playing I’d probably make a goofy face. So good thing I’m not in a band!

Friday Morning Metal – Power Paladin – Sword Vigor

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Ready for some cheeky power metal? This week it’s Iceland’s own Power Paladin, shredding out Sword Vigor. Apparently they used to just be called Paladin, then the pandemic™ happened and they became POWER PALADIN! I bet they know Björk. Maybe she’s featured in other songs. That would rule.

Much like most power metal, there’s some big guitar hooks before the rest of the band dives in. The hook is catchy as hell. Their vocalist is solid, transitioning from staccato verses to soaring choruses with ease. I think there’s even a baby key change before the solo, so this song has it all! The epic solo halfway through gets the added bonus of some keyboard, or they actually have someone playing a harpsichord in the band. Wouldn’t put it past a power metal band to get a harpsichord or zither up in there. The song is pretty paint by the numbers epic power metal track, but they do a great job of it so I look forward to more Power Paladin!

The video highlights the Power Paladins doing their regular day to day, I guess? Turns out they have a carpool and one of them vapes a ton. Oh and one of them is wicked passed out in the car. That can’t be healthy. And I guess they hate the vikings. LUTE SOLO! I know it’s guitar but the Power Paladin playing on a lute in the video is great. Then they beat the pie out of a goblin. Those Power Paladins sure are good at paladin’ around. And then they rip off in their sedan. This video gives a lot of the same goofy vibes I saw from Red Fang, and that’s fantastic.

Friday Morning Metal – Aquilla – Battalion 31

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HELL YES! HEAVY METAL WITH A TANK! Today we’re bringing you Battalion 31 by Warsaw’s on Aquilla. This is off their recently released album Sentinels of New Dawn, which sounds like a Twilight spin off. Google’s doofy AI drained one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes to tell me “Aquilla band” could refer to a Canadian metalcore band from Hamilton Ontario (go Hammer!) or a 1970’s Welsh art rock band. This band is clearly neither metalcore nor art rock, so thanks for that, Google!

Angry Metal Guy shared “Creed of Fire” in their review, which is a banger of a speed metal track. But there’s a music video for Battalion 31 and, while it’s not quite as fast, it’s still pretty great. The guitarists provide some solid noodling to kick the song off, on top of a good steady driving beat. I’m digging the vocals, he’s not trying to push too high or too low, and it fits in the tone of the song really well. Kicking off the guitar solo with a solid metal scream is fantastic. He gets a couple bites at the apple in the solo before an epic metal breakdown. The breakdown pivots into a more ballady refrain, with vocals that beg to be shouted by a whole arena of metalheads.

As I said up above, the video is the band gearing up for battle and then riding around in a big truck with space laser guns. I guess they’re Battalion 31, and they’re fighting to kill. Is a little funny there’s a “die by the sword” line in a video where they’re chucking grenades and riding tanks and stuff. It’s also interspersed with the band playing in a quarry and HOLY CRAP SOLO ON TOP OF A HILL! It’s not quite a mesa but it’s still pretty great. Seeing the whole band just standing around while the solo shreds was just a cherry on top. After the breakdown, I guess we’re seeing the aftermath of Battalion 31, torches blazing.

Friday Morning Metal – Burning Sun – Shadows Undone

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Happy Friday, here’s some power metal from a band hailing from both Hungary and Chile. I know when I’m hungry, sometimes I’ll go for chili. Maybe that was the impetus for their joining forces. Apparently the band is named after a Helloween song. It’s fun when bands name themselves after other tracks. I’m still looking forward to bands named The Lord of the Blacksmiths, Heavy Metal Jesus, and Resurrection by Erection. Though it would be tough if a band named themselves Angel Witch. These guys have been shredding since 2022, and Shadows Undone is a banger of a power metal track.

The song kicks off pretty powerfully, which should be expected. Great dueling guitarmonies intro before the vocalist gets going. There’s some solid vocal harmonizing before the solo soars off to the skies. It’s very noodly, I would look forward to seeing someone air guitar or Rockband it. A barely 4 minute run length for power metal is pretty great. You don’t need to write 12 minute opuses (opii?), you’re not Dream Theatre. I may have made this joke recently. I’m not very original, it’s okay.

It’s a lyric video, so you can figure out exactly what these guys are saying, so that’s nice. But it looks like it’s over a picture of a creepy necromancer trying to paw at a warrior lady? Maybe she’s about to slay him for being a creeper. Don’t be creepy and you won’t get slain, Jeff the Necromancer. I think her name is Emaly. I didn’t know that was a spelling. Maybe she’s Gen Z or something, laying waste to the countryside with her cohorts Madisynn and Nevaeh.

Friday Morning Metal – Leverage – Shooting Star

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I don’t know if I’ve heard Leverage before. They’ve been around since 2002, and bring a pretty big power metally sound. So powerful that they have an electric violinist in the band. Can’t go wrong when there’s non-standard instruments in a metal band, like a hurdy gurdy. According to encyclopedia metallum, they delve in themes of life and nature, and I guess Shooting Star is leaning on life.

The song has a bit of a twangy country vibe to the melody before diving headlong into a big metal chug. Kinda has Blind Guardian vibes with the vocals. They do a good job shifting from standard power metally vibes to the twangy melody. The guitar solo shreds mightily and transitions to a combo guitar/keyboard noodlefest. At four and a half minutes, the song doesn’t waste too much time while still being chock full of great metal staples. All in all it’s a rad song and I look forward to more Leveraging.

The video starts with the singer getting kidnapped or something? So they send their electric violinist to go find him and pay the beefy ransom. While she’s looking for him, the singer makes eyes at some lady, who ends up helping the violinist find him. Talk about good fortune there. And with him freed they’re able to get back to the studio to record! They don’t really indicate why he got abducted. He also left his kickass hat in the sorta jail. Maybe he got abducted so they could steal his hat. Or he stole someone’s hat and they made him leave it. But the rat really likes the hat, so that’s nice.