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Artist......: Battleroar
Album.......: To Death and Beyond...
Year........: 2008
Genre.......: Heavy Metal
Type........: Album
Label.......: Cruz Del Sur Music
Language....: English
Source......: WEB/FLAC (16bit)
Quality.....: 1022kbps / 44.1 kHz / Stereo
Tracks......: 9 tracks
Playtime....: 00:59:14
Size........: 431.1 MiB
R.Date......: 2026-07-10
S.Date......: 2008-04-17
Url.........: https://open.qobuz.com/album/po7xl6aysuntc
01. The Wrathforge 8:18
02. Dragonhelm 4:11
03. Finis Mundi 8:55
04. Metal From Hellas 4:16
05. Hyrkanian Blades 4:48
06. Oceans of Pain 10:24
07. Born in the 70'S 5:24
08. Warlord of Mars 4:24
09. Death Before Disgrace 8:34
Epic metal in the classic tradition, Greece's Battleroar
evokes the heyday of Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Manilla
Road, Omen, pre-prog Fates Warning and others. What
little I've heard of earlier Battleroar efforts didn't
particularly wow me-like so many of their peers,
Battleroar fell into the gaping morass of weak power
metal cliché; their Euro-styled riffing and operatic
vocals seemed under-produced and overdone, offering
nothing new to a sound already well-worn. With the shift
to Cruz Del Sur, the band picked up either a bigger
budget or a few better ideas because, despite a few
moments of cheese, To Death And Beyond is a damn fine
power metal record.
Battleroar is still derivative, as most power metal
bands are, but in the Final Battle Between Good And
Boring, songwriting and energy prevail over innovation
every time, and Battleroar have those two victors in
spades. Tunes like the galloping medieval themes of
"Dragonhelm" and the moody acoustic-laden "Finis Mundi"
are well-constructed and spirited enough to overcome the
staleness of their two-decade-old formula. "Finis" is
the first of the album's two most epic moments, with the
dynamic shifts from Queensryche-y gothic melancholy to
driving riffs and back again, an approach so nice the
band tries it twice, reprising the acoustic folk
instrumentation in "Oceans Of Pain."
Vocalist Marco Concoreggi's voice is edgier, more
aggressive than on the samples I'd heard from the two
earlier records, although he still treads very close to
Geoff Tate territory. Thankfully, he steers clear of the
higher-pitched moments that previously mired the band in
cheesiness, keeping to a soaring chest voice. (His
Italian accent is a little awkward at times, but
largely, his voice is strong and clear.) Lyrically, the
album displays a Manowar-like fixation upon battles and
swords and all the usual stuff, except for the song
"Born In The 70s," which is the album's lamest moment by
leaps and bounds. "We were born in the 70s / we've got
lightning in our veins / ... / we were born in the 70s /
we've got future in our brains..." Not so good on the
lyrical front, that one... Can't win 'em all.
With some great power metal albums released in the last
few years (Cage's Hell Destroyer, Pharaoh's Be Gone, the
new Helloween, etc.), Battleroar are up against some
stiff competition. I'm not certain To Death And Beyond
has the staying power of Hell Destroyer, a record that
blew my proverbial socks off, and it's hard to top
Pharaoh, as well. But To Death And Beyond ain't too
shabby neither, kids, no matter how corny it may be. I'd
recommend it to any fan of the bands or records I just
listed that are still looking for their next traditional
power metal fix.