My southern neighbours Magic Kingdom with main man Dushan Petrossi behind the
wheel surprises us with a fine album this month. Besides this band you probably
know him from the band Iron Mask! Their last album was with one of my favorite
power metal vocalists Olaf Hayer, but on this new album Christian Palin (Random
Eyes, ex Adagio)takes care of the vocals. His vocals fit like a glove to the
epic and sometimes a little bit dark sounding songs. Gone is the keyboard in the
line up, but there are enough orchestral arrangements in the music and drummer
Michael Brush hits the skins as if his life depends on it.
Christian's voice is a bit more aggressive than the general power metal singer and
sometimes the name Dio enters my mind. Especially in "Savage Requiem that is the
case, a song that has more similarities to a Dio song than the singing alone. Besides some more
threatening songs, there are some rather speedy tracks with neo classical
influences. With neoclassical I mean the solos of Petrossi, he shows that Yngwie
Malmsteen is one of his big examples and does that without being a copy of that
man.
That the band knows how to make catchy power metal as well, can be heard in "Ship
of Ghosts", a contagious refrain on a bed of galopping riffs and a solo that
will be recognized by lots of churchgoers and Beethoven lovers. If words like
orchestral parts, choir singing, classical elements, fast paced heavy pieces,
catchy refrains, makes your mouth water, don't hesitate to buy this cd.
This band combines darker power metal with neo classical solos, speed and
orchestration the best way it can be done. If you are a guitar freak you should
check this out also!
