Conquest announce their new 16 song album “Paradox”, to be released digitally, as well as on CD and two volume vinyl on April 19th, 2024, via Dark Star Records. “Paradox”, a pure Heavy Metal record from top to bottom. With the speed of “King of the World” and “Valley of the Damned”, and the dynamics of “The Devil’s Creed”,
and the thought provoking lyrics of “Save Me”, the depth of this record is by far our greatest accomplishment. Melodic guitar solos and crunchy ryhthms, with a furiously tight and precise drum performance, add a touch of lyrical bass melodies and vocals of poise and aggressionproducing a unique vocal style. “Paradox” is a Heavy Metal record with many flavors to choose from.
Derrick Brumley says: “By far the best work I have ever done, recording ‘Paradox’ was a great experience. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it”.
CONQUEST out of St. Louis, MO have been slugging it out in the Metal world since the very late 80s and early 90s. You can think them for keeping true U.S. Meta alive, even if it’s been more underground. They’ve had a mix of styles but mostly just straight up classic Heavy Metal – influences ranging from Judas Priest to Metallica.
Derrick Brumley has covered the vocals throughout the band’s history so their overall “sound” from the vocals has remained consistent. I don’t own every release of their library but I’m fairly familiar with their work and have always been impressed.
Let’s face it, they started in a time when Classic Metal was fading out in the early 90s. As the scene grew in Europe and other parts of the world, it remained difficult for bands like this to succeed in the United States. Long-story short, CONQUEST has never really gotten the exposure and attention they deserve.
Their new album “Paradox” is a great place to start if you’re just getting into the band. You could argue it’s their pinnacle moment, it’s 16 epic tracks of trad Metal that show you the band has many different sides to them. While most of the album contains massive anthems, they surprise you with songs like “In The Heavens”, “Babylon America” and “Last Goodbye” that show a more melodic side of the band.
”Walking Dead” and “The Writing’s On The Wall” are the first two singles that are good representations of the album. Both lean into real Metal with some modern twists. They’ve got influences from the NWOBHM, but they have a little of the Pantera groove Metal in their sound plus some Testament as well.
A couple of my personal favs are “Dying To Live” and “Killing Time”, which are also a couple of their heaviest. I think this is when they’re at their best when they to the slightly uptempo stuff, gang vocals, blistering solos and big choruses.
You WILL however hear them branch out from their roots on several songs. As bonus track CONQUEST does their version of Rainbow’s classic ‘Man On The Silver Mountain’, more metallic and thrashy than the original.
While there are many songs that stand alone on their own very well, the entire album has an overall “theme” and “concept” that makes the CD worth listening from beginning to end. This is essentially their “Destoyer” or “Operation Mindcrime”. I also think of Lizzy Borden’s “Master Of Disguise”, not so much musically, but more in the overall feel and story-telling.
Fans of Classic Metal need to listen to this album. It’s really well written and arranged with strong performances. I personally like that the production is raw and straight, like in good U.S. Metal glory days, with biting guitars.
Highly Recommended
1. Of the Devil’s Creed
2. Walking Dead
3. Save Me
4. He Shall Return
5. Celtic Mist
6. Love Amplified
7. Valley of the Damned
8. Dying to Live
9. World of Hate
10. Writing on the Wall
11. King of the World
12. In the Heavens
13. Babylon America
14. The Killing Time
15. Last Goodbye
16. Man on the Silver Mountain
Derrick Brumley: Lead Vocals, guitar
Mike Crook: Lead guitar, BG. vocals
Rob Boyer: Bass, BG. vocals
Lee Skyles: Drums, BG. vocals
Conquest – Paradox 2024+FLAC CD
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