Год: 2010
Жанр: Power Metal
Страна: Австралия

Tracklist:

01. Far Beyond
02. God Of War
03. Millenium
04. Break These Chains
05. Further Than Insane
06. End Of Time
07. Wish You Well
08. Follow
09. Witching Hour

BLACK MAJESTY – The story so far...
Arguably one of Australia’s most popular Heavy Metal bands, Black Majesty return with their fourth album In Your Honour. After initially dazzling the metal scene with their progressive tinged ‘Sands of Time’ cd (2003), and critically acclaimed power metal opus ‘Silent Company’ cd (2005) the band released ‘Tomorrowland’ in 2007 which saw them play at some of the world’s biggest renowned Heavy Metal festivals such as Masters of Rock Czech Republic, Metal Universe Slovakia and Wacken Open Air Germany. Stefan Belik of Bright Eyes Wacken review team went on to say that "Black Majesty shared unbelievable guitar work and one of the most impressive voices of the 2007 Wacken Open Air festival”...
Black Majesty searched long and hard before deciding on Masterplan main man Roland Grapow (ex Helloween) to produce the new album at Grapow studios in Slovakia. Right from the get go the band knew they were on a good thing with drummer Pavel Konvalinka recording drums with Roland Grapow back in August 2009.
The new album In Your Honour features great sing along choruses, emotive expression, impressive vocal work from arguably one of the best vocalists in the southern hemisphere – John Cavaliere, soaring dual guitar solos from guitarists Stevie Janevski & Hanny Mohamed , pounding bass from Evan Harris & awesome thundering power drumming from Pavel Konvalinka.
With influences ranging from Judas Priest, Dio, Manowar, Queensryche and Helloween the new album shows a band that wears their influences on their sleeves yet also one that is also striving to create new unique and powerful songs. ‘God of War’ is reminiscent of old school classic metal whilst songs such as ‘Far Beyond’ and ‘Further than Insane’ get our pulse racing from the get go. "Two Hearts’ and ‘Wish You Well’ showcase the bands knack for catchy anthems whilst ‘Break these Chains’ is by far the bands best emotion filled ballad thus far. We are also introduced to the haunting ‘Follow’ and ‘End of Time’ which are both lyrically intriguing, something sure to get the general public talking.
Black Majesty have always shown great passion for the music they play. They’ve helped spread the word with tours of Europe, Asia and Australia, playing alongside heavyweights such as Helloween, Saxon, Paul Dianno, Edguy, Hammerfall and Dragonforce many of whom were overwhelmed by the bands powerful energy.
Black Majesty’s amazing cover art theme continues with Dirk Illing (Scorpions/Wizard) again adding the fourth part to the Black Majesty story.
In Your Honour is out now through Limb Music.

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Review

While I might have been a bit harsh on Black Majesty’s previous album Tomorrowland, there’s no denying that it wasn’t the strongest third album a band could put out. Being that it had been so long since we had any new material from this group of Australian power metallers, I didn’t know what to expect when I put it on the first time to go work out…
Boom! I was hit by a flying melody, so deft and dense in its rich texture that I was knocked off my feet. What was that? Was it really the opening barrage of melody and power that is "Far Beyond,” the first song on In Your Honour? I could hardly believe my ears. It was faster than anything Black Majesty had ever put out, and more entwined with an almost Kamelot-esque complexity to boot. The solos screamed, the guitars crunched and the vocals soared higher than they ever had. Truly, this was a band at their most inspired. And the first part of the album is just a teaser, really – an exercise of their power. "Gods of War” rocks out with a catchy chorus and some of the slightly progressive flourishes that color many tracks here, and then the heavy, morose "Break These Chains” drops the mood a bit, but is still a really good song.
But then it really gets good. The whole last half of this album in general is stunningly good, a thrill ride of epic proportions that I do not see how anyone could turn down once they hear it once. On their early albums, you could hear this kind of potential in them, but here it just explodes, with more speed and intensity than ever. Every song is short and compact enough to be played on the go, but also emotionally complex and vital sounding than their past works. Every note sounds like they think it might be the last one they’ll ever play. It’s like they crammed in enough material for any of their previous albums into shorter templates; it’s just insane. And headbang-worthy, too, with the kinetic drum work and melodious riffage winding into a veritable hurricane of heavy metal power. What a trip! Some of the more ear-catching moments are in album standouts like the neck-breaking speed of "Further than Insane,” the melodic chugging stomp of "End of Time” and the old school riff-fest closer "Witching Hour.” Kick ass.
Gio Cavaliere on the vocals is just great, with his accented voice going from a soft Roy Khan-ish croon to a high-flying wail that is as idiosyncratic and identifiable as a Power Metal voice gets – you will know a Black Majesty song when you hear one. It’s just the way he sings his lines, the emphasis on certain words, and of course that weird lilt he has to his voice that makes it sound like he has a lisp or something – in the best of ways, I assure you. Some of the best moments here are when the band breaks the frenetic riffing and soloing for a more anthemic, epic chorus section – with some of the best being the one-two punch of the soaring "Wish You Well,” which is one of my personal favorites on here, and the most progressive track in "Follow,” with its pounding rhythms and huge chorus breaking down walls of complexity and delivering one hell of a song.
So really, everything about In Your Honour is great. The vocals are great, the instrumentation soars, weaves and dives through the boundaries of metal songwriting to create an album that is accessible but still reveals new things every time you listen. Frankly, this is the best album Black Majesty have put out so far, and I still think they can get better. I don’t know whose honor the band is defending so valiantly, but they’ve done a smashing job of it anyway.
Originally written for metalcrypt.com

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