The debut album in 2003 was tasty, but Black
Majesty are back and ready to rumble again. They sound as vibrant and Nordic as any of their contemporaries but yet this is one power metal outfit that hails not from the lands of frozen tundras but instead from the Outback. They are Australian but no one would ever guess from the music being presented on "Silent Company".
"Silent Company" is anything BUT silent. This is a wicked blend of the best straight up power metal has to offer:
Iron Maiden and Helloween. Throw in a few prog/power like touches from the glory days of Queensryche and you get a good idea of what's on hand. The music might not be original by any means, but then again it doesn't sound like it was churned out of a power metal writing factory either. Black
Majesty just seems to blend things fairly seamlessly, so you are presented with a hint of their inspirations without being blatantly clobbered over the head with it.
The album lacks some of the epic feel that "Sands of Time" brought forth, but they still speed ahead without looking back. With class no less. The band has a frenetic, kinetic feel on their speed songs that is a splash derivative, yet their enthusiasm and proficiency with their instruments make up for any shortcomings this could cause. I do wish they would slow things down more often, since they are fully capable of doing slick epic pieces as well.
Another promising point is the vocalist. Most power metal fans will likely agree that there has been a swarm of me-too outfits that feature singers that are high pitched to the point of brain numbing annoyance. After the second or third song set in a speedy setting with paint peeling vocals and double drums that seem to be pounding straight to the earth's core it gets pretty irritating. Thankfully Black
Majesty has employed a belter that has none of that. John Cavaliere is a well rounded singer with power to back him up.
With bands like Skyfire and
Hammerfall making a mockery of modern power metal and causing some fans of the genre to even feel ashamed to enjoy this style of music, it is refreshing to find a fairly new band that brings some of the glory back to the power metal name. Black
Majesty's take on it is very classic and therefore there isn't a plethora of original ideas on hand, but what is here is so well done that if you are into this at all, it's very difficult not to warm up to it.
I think anyone that has been disappointed with the plummeting quality of cookie cutter releases from some of the bigger name bands will find exactly what they have been searching for right here: solid as a rock metal with strong Helloween/
Iron Maiden/Queensryche influences.
Written by
Alanna Monday, January 23, 2006
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