IHailing from Massachusetts. USA Armoury delivers a potent slice of classic and power metal in their debut album “The Dawn Of Enlightenment” released independently by the band. Why is the biggest question and I am clueless as this is some of the best metal I have heard in this genre in some time. The production is spot on, the vocals of Adam Kurland (think a mix of Olaf Hayer and Bruce Dickinson) deliver with authority whilst the guitar tag team of Joe Kurland and Chad Fisher work extremely well together. This sprinkled with glistening keyboard inflections from Peter Rutcho and the pulverising rhythm section of Thomas Preziosi (bass) and Tony Vieira (drums) add up to make this an album that blows away recent studio efforts from Helloween to Iron Maiden. Simply said this sounds fresh and I defy anyone not to get into this.

"The Tempest" is a brief instrumental which sets an eerie scene before the epic “Faith In Steel” smashes you in the face with its intensely satisfying delivery. “Riding The Cosmic Winds” is classic Euro power metal which has shades of Dionysus is another winner before the pace settles down for “Forever Triumphant” - a well crafted metal ballad which again shows the dynamic vocals of Adam Kurland extremely well. The choir backed chorus add further majestic pomp to the track and I can see the mainland European crowd lapping this up. “Heart Of Dreams” sees the tempo pick back up for another slice of prime Euro power metal and has a feel of early Queensryche in places (no bad thing). “Warrior Forlorn” packs a punch once again whilst the instrumental “Forged In Dragon Flames” contains some nice lead work indeed with Chad’s first solo having a little Marty Friedman about it to these ears. “The Eyes Of Time” sees the verse suffer a little in comparison to previous offerings yet the chorus is one of the best on the album and is the kind of thing you wish Steve Harris would write now. “Mystic Star” is like early Maiden on steroids yet the energy coming through is totally infectious, although by now it would be nice to hear Tony Vieira perhaps find a different rhythm on the double bass drums for the verses. The 13:48 minute epic “The Dawn Of Enlightenment” and its as grandeur as one would hope for yet also is another highlight where all the ingredients of the band come together in one superb track. To end the album here would be fine but instead the band treat us to updated cover of the Iron Maiden classic “Flight Of Icarus” which is a nice touch and what I believe is the theme from Megaman games all add a nice touch.

Overall Armory have delivered a fresh slice of power metal in an age when most releases in the genre sound tired and clichéd. This is not a genre that you normally associate with America so perhaps this is where the genre’s future lies? As such this is highly recommended for fans of classic and power metal, heck it may even be good enough to get you wearing that band patch covered denim jacket! For gods sake someone at AFM or Nuclear Blast sign these lads up now.

Rating 90%

PATHOSRAY - S/T
Sensory - Out Now

 

Italian prog metallers Pathosray see the release of their self titled debut album on Feb 18th through Sensory Records. Mixed by Tommy Hansen and being marketed as “one of the best kept secrets of the Italian metal scene”. Originally going by the name N.D.E, the band established their own sound as a mixture of heavy metal, progressive metal and 70’s style symphonic prog-rock which will find a welcome home for anyone that likes fellow Italian prog metallers Moonlight Comedy or Twinspirits. Of course there are some strong Dream Theater / Symphony X influences which is hard to avoid in the genre but vocalist Marco Sandron mostly puts his own stamp on things despite the odd LaBrie’s esque wail.

The 9 tracks on offer are musically complex yet are quite accessible still. Highlights include “Faded Crystals” which clocks in at just over 8 minutes, “Scent Of Snow” and the quite superb “Strange Kind Of Energy” which falls into similar territory exhibited by Swedish prog metallers Seventh Wonder on “Waiting In The Wings”. Overall this is a strong debut, not a killer but shows definite potential. Despite its big name mixer the album doesn’t have the strongest production around which does hamper its delivery a little. Overall a solid start in a genre which is likely to see more releases than ever in 2008. 

Rating -80%

 

VOYAGER - UNIVERS
Dockyard1 - Out Now

Voyager hail from Sydney, Australia and have already played support to Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen on the back of their debut “Element V” as well as appearing at progpower Europe 2006. This their second and new album “Univers” is my first taste of the band and as such I have mixed reactions. The band play a brand of melodic metal with some prog, some folk and some darker shades, particularly in the vocals which sound somewhere between the gothic timbres with a half sung/half spoken vocal style mixed with some darker growls in places, I must admit that I never really adapted to these vocals despite numerous listens, which in turn did detract my enjoyment from the music somewhat. The production also is not the best with guitars, bass guitar, bass drum and vocals drowning out pretty much anything else – the snare drum gets lost beyond most recognition on opener “Higher Existence” yet is heard better on later tracks. Whilst this does detract from the overall nature there are some good songs here in “Deep Weeds” with its almost medieval feel in places (and one of the best vocal performances), whilst the strong European feel of “Cross The Line” would be a killer track where it not for the weak mix and general lacklustre production, whilst “Pulse 04” seems to fuse Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden-ish guitar harmonies in a more up-to-date package, whilst album closer “White Shadow” also has its moments. Sadly the rest of the album never really grew on me despite numerous spins. A band that sound like they have potential yet on this offering fall short.

Rating – 65%