We get welcomed by opening track ‘6666′. Here calls Angus McSix his brother Adam for help after being trapped in an ice block. This story gets told on a bed of power metal guitars; solid riffs, melodic vocals and a catchy chorus. A synth puts some extra vibes in between the guitars.
On to the second track ‘Fire of Yore‘, we get welcomed by the high-pitched screams of lead singer Sam Nyman (Manimal). He truly has an amazing voice that is placed here on a calmer bed of guitars with some more synths. There is also an amazing sense of humour in their previous album and also this one with silly lines like ‘and I won’t take the dwarf’. This line gets more elaborated on in the video that comes with this song. It’s hilarious and has good music. What more do you want?
In ‘I Am Adam McSix’, Adam introduces himself clearly to us with the support of Rhapsody on Fire. A solid track where the drums do a lot of talking. On top of that we have the synth supporting this story. The guitars finish it off with power chords more in the background of this track.
Dig Down features the a cappella band Van Canto. They join more towards the end of this track, but it does sound cool and they add their great sense of humour once again. The last chorus had Van Canto and Adam McSix singing the same lines together, which is too many voices at once if you ask me. It can get a bit chaotic. Nevertheless, it’s an awesome track where we laugh with the dwarf (Jasmin Pabst), which according to Van Canto, we shouldn’t do. Even though it is funny and has a catchy song with a steady beat.
On Techno Men, the band gets joined by the Finnish Turmion Kätilöt. The electronic vibes are stronger in this song than in the others on the album, as the title track suggests. It sounds to me like the electronics sometimes overstep the band, which is a shame because they sound really good pure, with nothing added to it. The synths are a nice touch, but they need to be careful that it doesn’t overstep their awesome guitar and vocal skills.
Ork Zero gets opened by an 8-bit sounding track. The song talks about their orc drummer of course (Gerit Lamm). The guitars get more love in the chorus, while the synths get more love in the verses. The chorus throws a tiny rave. Unexpected but very fun.
Starlight Stronghold is the perfect mix between guitars and synth. The song has a video game-like riff that gets you headbanging straight away. It feels like you are taken through a level with great enemies, but you are so strong that you just walk through the level with ease.
Aetheriyja gives us an instrumental break. It’s heavier than the previous tracks; with more and lower-tuned guitars. It also functions as the intro for the next song ‘Let the Search Begin‘.
Let the Search Begin opens with a synth, but then the guitars blast at full power. Adam’s vocals are lower and the song is faster. An energetic song that keeps you wanting to hear more.
On The Power of Metal, Freedom Call joins our hero’s for the second to last song. The song opens with long strummed guitar notes, while the synth creates the melody. The song starts rather mysteriously but opens up further into the song. Palm-muted verses show us the way toward the chorus. The chorus is fast and melodic, a classic power metal tune.
Last song Into Battle is an instrumental outro to this album. It closes off a heroic, humorous and strong album full of little details that I keep finding myself listening to over and over again.
This album had me head banging, laughing, thinking and playing air guitar. A great power metal album that has a synth in it that creates an extra touch. I love the subtle touches of humour throughout the songs. I keep coming back to that again and again. The storytelling has me already looking forward to a follow-up album. What will Adam do next? Does he still want to leave the dwarf behind? Will Angus be saved? Who knows, but I’m exited to find out.
REVIEW SCORE
| 8.2 | This album had me head banging, laughing, thinking and playing air guitar. A great power metal album that has a synth in it that creates an extra touch. I love the subtle touches of humour throughout the songs. I keep coming back to that again and again. Sometimes, the synth overtook the band a bit too much to my liking; drowning their own amazing sound. The storytelling has me already looking forward to a follow-up album. What will Adam do next? Does he still want to leave the dwarf behind? Will Angus be saved? Who knows, but I’m exited to find out. |








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