Majesty of Revival - Through Reality (Metal Scrap Records, 2012)

Genre: Progressive/Neoclassical Power Metal
Year: 2012
Country: Ukraïne
Tracklist:
1. Meaning of Life 05:02
2. Self-Control 04:32
3. The Moonlight 05:19
4. The Code 05:05
5. Masked Illusion 04:14 instrumental 
6. Blind 03:52
7. Magnalia Dei 04:29
8. Reality 07:28
9. Epilogus (Part I and II) 08:44
48:45

Review:

So today I have the pleasure to introduce you to Majesty Of Revival, a Ukrainian progressive power metal band. Upon first listening, bands like Yngwie Malmsteen and Rhapsody immediately spring to mind. While those bands have big budgets and real professional sound engineering, Majesty Of Revival does a very good job sounding professional on a lower budget, which is pretty impressive considering it's a debut album. All the instruments sound right and this is especially noticeable with the organ used in 'The Code', but not every song here is a winner. There are some weaker ones like 'Magnolia Dei' with its sudden use of more brutal vocals being very out of place in this sub-genre of metal. And those just aren't even that great to begin with.

The album is pretty diverse with, like previously mentioned, even some grunting to switch things around. That makes for an experience that does not get boring. Too bad not every song is a winner, but at least the good outweigh the bad. As far as singing goes, the 'normal' singer does a decent job and most noticeable of all, has almost no accent. A thing quite strange for a Ukrainian band. Instrumentally it works a bit better, the guitar work is very good on a technical level and elevates the music from being a standard power metal band to a more progressive level.

The artwork is very very fitting; there's no way somebody wouldn't look at this and mistake the genre. Well done, guys. The booklet contains the lyrics as expected, but I do have a gripe with it. Namely the text is almost impossible to read, and being such a small font doesn't really help either. I'm hoping with their next release this will be addressed. I like to know what they are singing about.

For a first album this is quite good and I'm definitely looking forward to what they will bring in the future.

PS: The highlight of the album is definitely 'Self Control'. It's just a song that really, really works.

Rating:


Where to buy?
http://metalscrap.org.ua/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2735:majesty-of-revival-qthrough-realityq-cd&catid=41:audiocd&Itemid=47

Crescent Shield - The Stars of Never Seen (Cruz Del Sur Music, 2009)

Genre: Heavy/Power Metal
Year: 2009
Country: USA
Tracklist:

1.	Under Cover of Shadows	06:54
2.	The Grand Horizon	04:33
3.	Tides of Fire	04:19
4.	10,000 Midnights Ago	04:22
5.	Temple of the Empty	06:09
6.	My Anger	03:24
7.	The Bellman	03:23
8.	The Endurance	09:16
9.	Lifespan	06:34
		48:54

Review:
After the release of The Last of My Kind in 2006 Crescent Shield brings out a second album two years later entitled The Stars of never seen, today it’s that second album that I will be reviewing. The band has been founded by members of Onward and Destiny’s End, in short artists who have already made their marks elsewhere. If you know anything about the previous groups it should come as no surprise that we are essentially getting a serving of U.S. Power Metal. The singer is Michael Grant who, while opinions about his qualities are divided, is in my eyes one of the most underrated singers in today’s metal scene. For many his unique vocal timbre will be a difficult adjustment, but whether it’s a fast song or a melodic sounding one Grant will provide everything with beautiful vocals, even the high notes he reaches with ease. Of course comparisons can be made with the greats in the genre like Omen, Jag Panzer and the longer, more progressive sounding songs also with the old Fates Warning. The song “The Endurance is worth a special mention, although this is the longest song that Crescend Shield has written so far, it never threatens to get boring, more so this epic song is slowly building up to a crescendo in about the middle of the song after witch it remains compelling to the last note. For people less into the progressive genre it also contains more straightforward upbeat tempo songs such as “My Anger”. There has clearly been though about the structure of the songs on this record, the production has had an audible improvement over the debut and the artist show that they know how to handle their instruments. In short, U.S. Power metal at its best, why haven’t you bought this yet?

Rating:

Where to buy?:
http://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=60

Note: Michael Grant passed away not long ago this year, I would like to take this moment to offer my sincere condolences to everyone who knew Michael Grant, truly a singer who had so much more to offer was taken from us.