Power metal

Classics Appreciation

Classics Appreciation: The Lord Weird Slough Feg – Traveller Review

I’m sure that there are complaints that I could find about Traveller if I fought hard enough to; I’ve seen some criticisms of the drum production, and I’ve heard that certain tracks are perceived as being a bit less good. I’m too in love to hear any of them; to me, Traveller is perfect, and my only fault with it is that it’s never been reissued and I can’t afford it on vinyl. Traveller is the triumphant attack of heavy metal in every form that I’ve ever wanted heavy metal to be, and it always will be.

By Brandon Corsair, ago
Demo Dungeon

Demo Dungeon: Candle Opera – Dream Theatre Review

Not long ago I was having dinner with a very good friend of mine discussing about all those demos that we wished to be reissued but we both knew that was only wishful thinking. And then he mentioned Candle Opera, an extremely obscure heavy/ power band from Canada that somehow he managed to get one track from their long lost 1992 demo to upload in his Youtube Channel. Little we both knew then that at the same time Cult Metal Classics was working on a release of their long lost demo titled Dream Theatre.

By Panos Anagnostopoulos, ago
Features

July 4th Special: A US Power Metal Podcast

If you’ve browsed Ride Into Glory before, then it’s no secret that I am a huge fan of US Power Metal. In fact, six years ago I wrote rudimentary versions of the USPM primers you can find here. One of the big reasons I started Ride Into Glory in the first place is because I wanted to revamp those guides and bring them to a bigger audience. In order to celebrate the first July 4th that RIG has been in existence, I joined my friends over at powerful.a power metal podcast to discuss US Power metal as a whole.

By Marco, ago
New Releases

New Release Highlight: Visigoth – Bells of Awakening Review

With the release of 2018’s Conqueror’s Oath, American metal stalwarts Visigoth were as white-hot as ever. Intending to keep that heat, they released a two track EP titled Bells of Awakening just last month. Everything you’ve come to know and love Visigoth for – the tremendous vocals, catchy riffs, and singalong choruses – is out in full force here. The band has stamped out their own style of traditional heavy metal and Bells of Awakening further solidifies that.

By Marco, ago
Lost in Time

Lost in Time: Stingray – Rain Review

Stingray were a band that was rather mysterious, they appeared essentially out of nowhere, were signed almost immediately by a large label in King records and dropped a debut album right away. They had seemingly no demos leading up to this, no known previous member experience in popular bands or anything. Not quite the typical start to a career for an 80s metal band to say the least, especially uncommon for Japan where metal bands being signed by big labels in the early to mid 1980s was a rare occurrence.

By Tadakatsu, ago
Classics Appreciation

Classics Appreciation: Fates Warning – The Spectre Within

The Spectre Within is a peculiar album, both out of context and within the one of Fates Warning’s career to that point. Night on Brocken, their debut, was an album that was frankly, very derivative Iron Maiden worship. It isn’t really a terrible album so much as one that shows a young band very unsure of their direction and what they’d actually want to do (Jim Matheos, the main songwriter of the band, reputedly never liked it very much). I submit that The Spectre Within, its immediate successor, represented one of the biggest leaps of maturity and quality in metal history, at least up to that point. And, for a vanishingly small window, it helped position Fates Warning as one of the unquestioned masters of metal genre, both of their era and of all time.

By blondiemacfilthy, ago
Features

Chronicle of the Black Sword: Rock and Metal Inspired by Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse

Heroic fantasy has always been a popular lyrical subject for heavy metal bands, and it’s not hard to see why. Heavy metal simply isn’t normal. You just can’t write powerful, dynamic compositions and have the vocalist sing about mundane things such as walking the dog or taking out the trash (unless by “trash” you mean “posers”). There are many different approaches a band can take to penning lyrics of the fantastic. Some are inspired by mythology or films, while others create their own stories. Some look to literature for inspiration. Those that do usually find it in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian, or Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné.

By Karmazid, ago
Demo Dungeon

Demo Dungeon: MaelstroM – This Battle to Make History, Yet History Never Comes Review

Some bands, such as Oblivion or Enchanter, make me scratch my head at the fact that they’re completely unknown, as they rule extremely hard and are similar to some more well-known bands (Sanctuary and Fates Warning, respectively). Clearly some metalheads just aren’t willing to go the extra mile and find the hidden gems – because plenty of people would go apeshit over those two acts, I’m pretty confident. A band like MaelstroM though – their obscurity is no surprise whatsoever – in fact I’d be surprised if they were well-known. Not because they suck, but because they’re so absurdly esoteric; neoclassical power/speed/thrash with extremely progressive song structures, random acoustic segments, and proto-death metallish yells alternated with really, really fucking strange and off-putting cleans. Add in songs that average around 7 minutes in length, and you have an inaccessible demo by some no-name power/thrash band.

By Jophelerx, ago