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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Black Majesty - Cross Of Thorns + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Sep-25-2015 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2015 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.blackmajesty.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Black Majesty Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Cross Of Thorns Label : Pride & Joy Mu ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ There have been a number of truly stalwart power ║ │
│║ metal acts that date back to the turn of the ║ │
│║ millennium, but if both consistency of quality ║ │
│║ and of sound are measured together, few compare ║ │
│║ to the long running Australian power house that ║ │
│║ is Black Majesty. Their military-like adherence ║ │
│║ to the traditions set forth during said time ║ │
│║ period could be likened to the unchanging sound ║ │
│║ of acts such as Axel Rudi Pell in their gallant ║ │
│║ refusal to bend with the times or chase after ║ │
│║ fleeting trends, especially during the style's ║ │
│║ mixed foray into AOR territory in the mid 2000s, ║ │
│║ all but to the point if leaving them open to ║ │
│║ accusations of simply putting out the same album ║ │
│║ five times. Truth be told, apart from a slightly ║ │
│║ larger and stronger production quality coming ║ │
│║ into the picture when Roland Grapow (Masterplan, ║ │
│║ ex-Helloween) took over the production reigns on ║ │
│║ 2010's In Your Honor, they haven't really ║ │
│║ changed much at all, and the entry of their ║ │
│║ sixth opus Cross Of Thorns continues the sonic ║ │
│║ tradition, though the passing of their longtime ║ │
│║ album cover artist Dirk Illing has brought in ║ │
│║ the talents of Argentinian self-taught artist ║ │
│║ Valgorth, who has stayed faithful to the band's ║ │
│║ imagery and symbolism while providing a fresh, ║ │
│║ wintry gloss of his own into the mix. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Expectations are met consistently from start to ║ │
│║ finish as the musical underpinnings that have ║ │
│║ always defined Black Majesty's dense, ║ │
│║ atmospheric and somber atmosphere are in full ║ │
│║ swing. The adherence to the mid 80s to early 90s ║ │
│║ Iron Maiden mode of melody and formulaic chord ║ │
│║ progressions find themselves splashing over a ║ │
│║ generally cruising and fast rhythmic feel that ║ │
│║ leans towards Helloween, but also with a fair ║ │
│║ bit of older power metal trappings more readily ║ │
│║ attributed to early Queensryche and Fates ║ │
│║ Warning. The guitar work is generally heart felt ║ │
│║ and with an air of humility compared to more ║ │
│║ shred happy acts like Gamma Ray and Labyrinth, ║ │
│║ but in terms of general feel there are elements ║ │
│║ where both of said bands can be heard, ║ │
│║ particularly the slightly progressive semi- ║ │
│║ balladry of "Crossroads" and "Make Believe" ║ │
│║ where the band makes use of acoustic guitars and ║ │
│║ heavy keyboard overlays to achieve an archaic ║ │
│║ sense of heaviness and lightness, almost like a ║ │
│║ post-1990s reinterpretation of Queensryche's ║ │
│║ "The Lady Wore Black" or a less fancy answer to ║ │
│║ some of the lighter material on Labyrinth's ║ │
│║ Return To Heaven Denied. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Naturally this wouldn't be a true power metal ║ │
│║ album in the early 2000s mold without plenty of ║ │
│║ speed and glorious chorus sections, and apart ║ │
│║ from the aforementioned semi-ballads, this album ║ │
│║ has it almost in excess. The opening number ║ │
│║ "Phoenix" is among the more straightforward ║ │
│║ speeders that this band has ever put out, opting ║ │
│║ for a standard verse/chorus format with an ║ │
│║ emphasis on a driving feel and the crooning ║ │
│║ brilliance of Gio Cavaliere's vocals, which are ║ │
│║ reminiscent of a slightly deeper and denser ║ │
│║ rendition of Ray Adler's early 90s work with ║ │
│║ Fates Warning. "Anneliese" and "One Life" ║ │
│║ present somewhat longer and more involved ║ │
│║ versions of the same general concept, featuring ║ │
│║ a few more twists and turns before hitting that ║ │
│║ sweet spot that most call a chorus, and chock ║ │
│║ full of memorable melodic moments to boot. "Vlad ║ │
│║ The Impaler" dials back the speed factor ║ │
│║ slightly but ratchets up the heaviness, throws ║ │
│║ in a background growling voice during the ║ │
│║ chorus, and lays the keyboards on a bit thicker ║ │
│║ than anything in this band's past in a manner ║ │
│║ almost reminiscent of Dream Theater. But the ║ │
│║ true outright climax points of this album are ║ │
│║ the speeding frenzies of "Misery" and "Escape" ║ │
│║ where they land in overt speed metal territory ║ │
│║ that's closer to Helloween or even Paragon at ║ │
│║ their fastest, the latter song even landing on a ║ │
│║ happy sounding chorus heavily reminiscent of the ║ │
│║ former band. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Though on the whole this is a slightly cut below ║ │
│║ In Your Honor, it's yet another moment of sheer ║ │
│║ brilliance from a band that doesn't know the ║ │
│║ meaning of the words "inferior release". Even ║ │
│║ though they ended up opting to cover a song on ║ │
│║ here that's been done to death by every power ║ │
│║ metal band from Primal Fear to Sonata Arctica ║ │
│║ ("Out In The Fields"), they somehow manage to ║ │
│║ come out with a unique take on said song where ║ │
│║ Gio ends up sharing vocal duties and the band ║ │
│║ piles on the atmosphere while still keeping the ║ │
│║ same driving feel of Gary Moore's original ║ │
│║ version. That's pretty much how this entire ║ │
│║ album can be characterized, a largely ║ │
│║ conservative rendition of a sound that has been ║ │
│║ around for a while yet managing to keep it ║ │
│║ extremely interesting through a combination of ║ │
│║ spectacular performance and excellent ║ │
│║ songwriting. It's another essential album from a ║ │
│║ band that ought to be required listening for ║ │
│║ power metal fans of any stripe. Six albums and ║ │
│║ 14 years later, this old king of the metal ║ │
│║ jungle still dons his crown in splendor, through ║ │
│║ the fire of gazing stars to the fury of a grand ║ │
│║ blizzard before the moon's pale gaze. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ John "Gio" Cavaliere - Vocals ║ │
│║ Hanny Mohammed - Guitars, Keyboards ║ │
│║ Steve Janevski - Guitars, Vocals (backing) ║ │
│║ Evan Harris - Bass ║ │
│║ Ben Wignall - Drums ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Pavel Konvalinka (All Drums on This Album) ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Phoenix [03:18] │
│ 02 - Anneliese [04:25] │
│ 03 - Vlad The Impaler [04:41] │
│ 04 - Crossroads [05:57] │
│ 05 - Out In The Fields [03:57] │
│ 06 - Misery [05:39] │
│ 07 - Make Believe [05:03] │
│ 08 - One Life [05:03] │
│ 09 - Emptiness Ideal [04:50] │
│ 10 - Escape [04:19] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [47:12 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
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│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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