Visigoth are a cool epic metal band from Salt Lake City in the States, roll forward a few years since they first caught my attention and we have a major label signing, a new logo and new music…but not in style thankfully. Their Epic US metal is all very much intact and you will be marching quite merrily into battle with these gents when you spin this release.
It’s safe to say if you are a fan of Manilla Road, Grand Magus, Cirith Ungol and early Slough Feg, then you will appreciate this release. I was concerned that their flair and battle thirst would disappear compared to their ‘Final Spell’ and earlier demo material, and whilst three of those tracks appear on this release, the down to earth grit and determination of said tracks which are ‘Creature of Desire’, ‘Vengeance’ and the rather spectacular ‘Iron Brotherhood’ remains true to form. Admittedly, it did take a couple of listens to get to this conclusion. At first you may not be too taken a back when you have such long duration tracks, there is a fair bit to take in, there is a lot of similarities to other bands of this ilk too, but in the end the quality of this release shines through, but you need patience.
My only real negative of this release is the choice of Manilla Road song to cover. As great as the track is and as great as Visigoth’s version is, ‘Necropolis’ has been covered to death. Previous cover versions by Visigoth have included Omen’s ‘Battle Cry’, so there is a definite cross reference to their own material here, but there are plenty of other cool songs by the said band to be used, this is predictable.
‘Dungeon Master’ is a touch special, the sound is immense. I did think I’d heard this before, but on checking, I was mistaken. Take that as meaning the track being so delightful that you can sing along to it rapidly after your first impression. As with most of this release to be fair, it’s very catchy. I always like a good cover for such albums, so the artwork for the release is a similar story to most epic metal albums, you’ll see a little piece of inspiration at each corner of the picture and I guess this will look great when the hallowed vinyl edition is released.
In summary, with the epic vocal melodies, chord structures and general togetherness of this recording, Visigoth’s ‘The Revenant King’ is one of those albums that will have your fist flying in the air, will have your head bobbing in appreciation and will have signed up to their particular battle legion. The journey with Visigoth is just beginning, what a ride this could well turn out to be!
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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