Almost immediately you're going to hear the chief influences on this band musically. Pressing the play button might as well be like popping in a long lost Blind Guardian album from the early 90's. The infectious speed metal riffs with bits of thrash, a melody driven vocal attack with copious harmonized layers, and conceptual lyrics constructed of an epic story. All of the pieces of the puzzle fall right into place. While for some bands this is a limitation and the tough measuring stick to live up to, Judicator manage to strike a balance of worship and originality which most others aren't able to achieve (even the mighty Savage Circus borrow a bit too much from BG/Iron Savior in their approach, in my opinion). This becomes readily apparent on track 2, Into The Sea Of Bayonets, when guest death
vocalists enter into the mix. There are a few other songs on the album featuring this stylistic choice to varying degrees of effectiveness, but overall it does just enough to separate the vocals on the album from overt Hansi Kursch worship into something a bit more modern and unique. Sure, there are plenty of other new traditional/power metal acts using death metal vocals these days, but Judicator have done well to use them in a way that supports the concept instead of just having it there to stick out like a sore thumb and appeal to a larger audience (I'm looking at you 3 Inches Of Blood). Trade-offs between the cleans and harsh vocals in songs like Huogoumont or King Of Rome are a great example of how this style can work perfectly in power metal.
Looking at the track list, I'm sure the length of all of these songs may seem a bit daunting (only 8 songs and nearly an hour total running time). I can confirm that it will take a few listens to digest the bulk of this release and appreciate it as a whole. Give it a chance though, especially if you are a fan of Blind Guardian, Savage Circus, Iron Savior, Demons & Wizards, etc. You are not likely to be disappointed and this might be one of your favorite releases of 2012. John Yelland absolutely slays it on vocals, channeling Tales-era Hansi Kursch (especially on the bonus track cover of The Tommyknockers). The guitarwork by Tony C is a solid representation of the German riff-machines which he obviously loves, paying excellent tribute throughout and reaching its own beauty at times. The culmination of the entire album has to be the epic final track, Elan. It all comes together in that final 12+ minutes and these guys should be proud to have reached for the stars with their worship-band and actually lived up to the original product. I'm looking forward to hearing more from this project in the future.
Tracklist:
1. Rising Again 06:36
2. Into the Sea of Bayonets 06:10
3. Backs Against the Wall 06:36
4. King of Rome 06:53
5. Huogoumont 06:30
6. Tu N'es Pas Mort, Coquin? 05:33
7. The Iron Duke 05:16
8. Elan 12:20
9. The Tommyknockers (Blind Guardian Cover) 5:24
Info:
John Yelland (Disforia, Ex-Shadowseer) - Vocals/Lyrics
Tony C. (Vermiform, Project: Roenwolfe) - Guitars/Bass/Drum Programming
Guest Musicians:
Bryan Edwards (Ex-Seven Kingdoms) - Vocals
Chad Anderson (Disforia) - Vocals
Justin Trombetti - Vocals
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JUDICATOR – KING OF ROME 2012
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