Icelandic power metal band Power Paladin, need to do two things with their sophomore record Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment.
Number one: showing anyone who missed it why they scored a massive 9/10 from me with their debut album Magic Of Windfyre Steel. Number two: whether they can recapture that glorious fantasy power metal brilliance on this follow up.
Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment definitely shows their hand early with another conceptual saga where Dungeons & Dragons, Robert E. Howard, Frank Frazetta and anything that features swords and sorcery combines with that power metal purity of bands such as Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Hammerfall, Helloween and also DragonForce (Glade Lords Of Athel Loren).
So they begin with answering both questions in earnest, galloping bass and drums, light speed guitar harmonies, sweeping keys and soaring vocals this is power metal for the old school crowd, but Power Paladin refine it all with album two, as they bring speed/thrash metal explosivity on opener Sword Vigour and The Royal Road, the latter adding some Maiden gallops from the rhythm section.
Power Paladin are a band about majesty and might, creating fantasy worlds to explore with their music, the production crystalline so you can hear every moment and while debut had lots of youthful exuberance, this one is more refined, the maturity, they now have shining through, with the cinematic tones of Aegis Of Eternity and theatrical Camelot Rock City.
They also show their connections with Majestica’s Tommy Johansson joining on the neoclassical intensity of The Arcane Tower, but the six piece don’t need any additional help really as they have locked in their sound since the debut but refine it with album two.
As Valediction closes Beyond The Reach Of Enchantment, with nine minute Blind Guardian-like epic, Power Paladin cement their style as classic power metal for a new generation. A well deserved 9/10
Iron Slug– Deceit And Misery (Independent) [Spike]
There is a specific, heavy-set joy in stumbling onto a band that has already built a fortress while you weren’t looking. While Iron Slug has a back catalogue that I now realise needs urgent excavation, Deceit and Misery functions as a sudden, hostile takeover for the uninitiated. It is a record that plays out like a high-velocity speed date with the history of heavy metal, hitting on sludge, doom, and various darker corners of the underground in a way that feels curated rather than cluttered.
The experience starts with the brilliant intro to A Calming Turmoil, and immediately, the production choices stand out. The crash of the cymbals and the drums have this distant, unpolished quality, it sounds like the kit is being hammered in the room next door while the rest of the band is right in your face. It’s a raw, honest bit of atmosphere that leads directly into a sludgy, doomy drive of bass and guitars that doesn’t just invite you in; it drags you down.
As the record moves into Love Retires Under Night and Graceless Bodies, the band’s ability to pivot between influences becomes their greatest weapon. One minute you’re caught in a slow-burn, tectonic crawl, and the next, a jagged, old-school death metal riff is cutting through the fog. It’s a grime-flecked balance between the slow-burn atmosphere and the sudden, jagged violence that rewards the listener for sticking with the downward momentum.
The middle stretch, Die The Same and Ritualistic Feeding, doubles down on the grit. There’s a physical weight to the rhythm section here, a bruised-rib honesty that avoids the high-gloss polish of modern metalcore in favour of something far more subterranean. The vocals are a guttural anchor amidst the noise, delivered with a level of conviction that suggests these aren’t just “protest songs,” but a documented reality of the grind.
There is a distinct, dirt-under-the-fingernails feeling to the way this record ends, a silence that carries the weight of the debris it just created. Iron Slug haven’t just provided a heavy distraction; they’ve built a sonic environment where the physical impact of the riff is the only thing that matters. It’s a masterclass in the beauty of the collision, and it’s effectively sent me straight to the archives to uncover exactly what else I’ve been missing while they were busy making the floorboards groan. 8/10
Iron Slug– Deceit And Misery (Independent) [Spike]
There is a specific, heavy-set joy in stumbling onto a band that has already built a fortress while you weren’t looking. While Iron Slug has a back catalogue that I now realise needs urgent excavation, Deceit and Misery functions as a sudden, hostile takeover for the uninitiated. It is a record that plays out like a high-velocity speed date with the history of heavy metal, hitting on sludge, doom, and various darker corners of the underground in a way that feels curated rather than cluttered.
The experience starts with the brilliant intro to A Calming Turmoil, and immediately, the production choices stand out. The crash of the cymbals and the drums have this distant, unpolished quality, it sounds like the kit is being hammered in the room next door while the rest of the band is right in your face. It’s a raw, honest bit of atmosphere that leads directly into a sludgy, doomy drive of bass and guitars that doesn’t just invite you in; it drags you down.
As the record moves into Love Retires Under Night and Graceless Bodies, the band’s ability to pivot between influences becomes their greatest weapon. One minute you’re caught in a slow-burn, tectonic crawl, and the next, a jagged, old-school death metal riff is cutting through the fog. It’s a grime-flecked balance between the slow-burn atmosphere and the sudden, jagged violence that rewards the listener for sticking with the downward momentum.
The middle stretch, Die The Same and Ritualistic Feeding, doubles down on the grit. There’s a physical weight to the rhythm section here, a bruised-rib honesty that avoids the high-gloss polish of modern metalcore in favour of something far more subterranean. The vocals are a guttural anchor amidst the noise, delivered with a level of conviction that suggests these aren’t just “protest songs,” but a documented reality of the grind.
There is a distinct, dirt-under-the-fingernails feeling to the way this record ends, a silence that carries the weight of the debris it just created. Iron Slug haven’t just provided a heavy distraction; they’ve built a sonic environment where the physical impact of the riff is the only thing that matters. It’s a masterclass in the beauty of the collision, and it’s effectively sent me straight to the archives to uncover exactly what else I’ve been missing while they were busy making the floorboards groan. 8/10
Tomorrow’s Outlook – Black Waves (Battlegod Productions/Sörvik Rock Music) [Matt Bladen]
Black Waves is Tomorrows Outlook third studio album of heavy power metal that takes from the US sound despite the band being from Norway.
In the for fans of section names like Crimson Glory, Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson are thrown around and those latter comparisons come from the vocals of Tony Johannessen who’s a dead ringer for the air raid siren.
Black Waves is Tomorrows Outlook third studio album of heavy power metal that takes from the US sound despite the band being from Norway.
In the for fans of section names like Crimson Glory, Iron Maiden and Bruce Dickinson are thrown around and those latter comparisons come from the vocals of Tony Johannessen who’s a dead ringer for the air raid siren.
Whether it’s commanding the rampaging rockers such as Eventide or on the mid-pace stompers like Oceans Of Sadness, he’s got that Bruce bombast which is ideal for the conceptual nature of these songs written by bassist Andreas Stenseth and manager/songwriter Trond Nicolaisen, the ideas of folklore, costal tragedy and history all inspiring the lyrical side of the album.
So Black Waves is written by a bassist, featuring two guitarists, often in harmony and air raid siren voice, Iron Maiden is definitely going to be a big influence (Down Falls The Axe), so though is a band like Heaven’s Gate and that thrashier German scene.
So Black Waves is written by a bassist, featuring two guitarists, often in harmony and air raid siren voice, Iron Maiden is definitely going to be a big influence (Down Falls The Axe), so though is a band like Heaven’s Gate and that thrashier German scene.
So it’s no surprise that the album was mixed and mastered by Sascha Paeth to make sure that the guitars of Øystein K. Hanssen and Valentino Francavilla have that that dirtier street sound of Judas Priest on Silver Ghost and Wait For The Sun, as there’s swashbuckling on the title track and more power metal propulsion on Lament Of The Dammed as Owe Lingvall’s drumming gets a chance to gallop.
Black Waves is the first album from Tomorrows Outlook since 2018 and while their name suggests otherwise they are band who look to yesterday for inspiration, filling their third album with some classic heavy metal. 7/10
Helgafell – Chronicles (Naturmacht Productions) [Spike]
Anglo-Saxon history is a bloody, jagged mess of “blood and toil,” and on Chronicles, Helgafell has attempted to convert that collective memory into four sprawling chapters of atmospheric black metal. It’s a concept album in the truest sense, digging into the battles and kings that defined the late Anglo-Saxon reign. However, as is often the case with one-man solo projects, there is a visible seam to the music, a sense that the record has been “constructed” layer by layer in a room rather than “delivered” by a living, breathing unit.
Black Waves is the first album from Tomorrows Outlook since 2018 and while their name suggests otherwise they are band who look to yesterday for inspiration, filling their third album with some classic heavy metal. 7/10
Helgafell – Chronicles (Naturmacht Productions) [Spike]
Anglo-Saxon history is a bloody, jagged mess of “blood and toil,” and on Chronicles, Helgafell has attempted to convert that collective memory into four sprawling chapters of atmospheric black metal. It’s a concept album in the truest sense, digging into the battles and kings that defined the late Anglo-Saxon reign. However, as is often the case with one-man solo projects, there is a visible seam to the music, a sense that the record has been “constructed” layer by layer in a room rather than “delivered” by a living, breathing unit.
The experience begins with The Harrying Of The North, and the talent on display is undeniable. The guitars possess a cold, pagan-inflected melody that fits the “torch of remembrance” theme perfectly. But as the nearly seven-minute track unfolds, the transition between the atmospheric calms and the high-velocity black metal stabs feels a bit mechanical. You can almost feel the moment the track shifts from “Part A” to “Part B” on the monitor; it lacks that organic, unpredictable flow that usually comes from a full lineup feeding off each other’s energy.
The Bandit Of The Marsh and The Council Of Folly continue this trend of technical dexterity meeting studio-mandated rigidity. There’s a lot to admire here, the drum programming is sophisticated and the layering of the synths adds a genuine sense of historical scale yet it feels a tad disjointed. It’s like looking at a meticulously built model of a cathedral; the detail is stunning, but you can’t help but notice the glue at the corners. It’s “constructed” noise, lacking the raw, bruised-rib honesty that usually defines this genre.
The record finds its most cohesive momentum during The Union Of Kings. It’s the final chapter of the Anglo-Saxon narrative, and it leans heavily into a more heroic, rhythmic strut. The production is high-fidelity, which is a credit to the one-man effort but it occasionally robs the sound of the “gristle” needed for a record about medieval warfare. It’s a clean, professional excavation that sounds more like a documented history than a visceral experience.
By the time the final notes of The Union Of Kings subside, the story is complete, but the emotional connection feels a bit fragmented. Helgafell has clearly put an immense amount of work into the research and the performance, yet Chronicles remains a record of brilliant, isolated parts that haven’t quite fused into a singular soul. It’s an interesting, highly talented look at the English kingdom’s roots, but it left me wishing for a bit more blood on the strings and a bit less precision in the mix. 7/10
The Bandit Of The Marsh and The Council Of Folly continue this trend of technical dexterity meeting studio-mandated rigidity. There’s a lot to admire here, the drum programming is sophisticated and the layering of the synths adds a genuine sense of historical scale yet it feels a tad disjointed. It’s like looking at a meticulously built model of a cathedral; the detail is stunning, but you can’t help but notice the glue at the corners. It’s “constructed” noise, lacking the raw, bruised-rib honesty that usually defines this genre.
The record finds its most cohesive momentum during The Union Of Kings. It’s the final chapter of the Anglo-Saxon narrative, and it leans heavily into a more heroic, rhythmic strut. The production is high-fidelity, which is a credit to the one-man effort but it occasionally robs the sound of the “gristle” needed for a record about medieval warfare. It’s a clean, professional excavation that sounds more like a documented history than a visceral experience.
By the time the final notes of The Union Of Kings subside, the story is complete, but the emotional connection feels a bit fragmented. Helgafell has clearly put an immense amount of work into the research and the performance, yet Chronicles remains a record of brilliant, isolated parts that haven’t quite fused into a singular soul. It’s an interesting, highly talented look at the English kingdom’s roots, but it left me wishing for a bit more blood on the strings and a bit less precision in the mix. 7/10
