BATTLEROAR
"To Death and Beyond" (Cruz Del
Sur; 2008)
Reviewed by Metal Mark
Greek epic metal act Battleroar offer up their third album which is full of sword-wielding, off-to-battle marching type chants and lyrics that go with this style. Normally, I roll my eyes when I come in contact with yet another band talking about dragons, some type of warrior ethic and the like. If you love that kind of stuff, then you take to this one quickly but, even if not, then fans of real metal still need to give this one a listen because Battleroar have a lot to offer.
My first reaction was that Battleroar have some similarities to 80s material from bands such as Manowar and Omen yet they are far more involved musically. They have definite touches of early Helloween and Iron Maiden yet they bring their own force and fury to the guitar style as well. The changes in the riffs just in the opening minute or so of each song is quite impressive.
Yet "To Death and Beyond" is as much about heaviness and clarity as it is about speed and amount of riffs. I may be stating the obvious, but a number of bands forget about how important a good heavy riff is, but Battleroar obviously bases their whole foundation on those riffs and it's a strong foundation.
Battleroar have produced a real heavy metal album in the classic sense of the words. It's certainly an effort that's going satisfy those fans who savor solid, pounding metal with strong, forceful vocals. Okay, sometimes they touch upon parts that sound as though they substituted lyrics for soccer chants, but I can overlook that considering how good the music and vocals are. They also show some degree of versatility as well by handling their acoustic passages with great proficiency as these parts add to the overall epic feel of the album.
I am not exactly going to strap on chain mail or whack someone in the head with a mace after listening to this, but it's a likable release from a band who obviously enjoy what they are doing.
For more information, check out http://www.myspace.com/battleroar1.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2008 by R. Scott Bolton. All
rights reserved.
