Traditional heavy metal, meaning bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath, and Dio, just to name a few bands within that style, is one of my favorite styles of metal. I love the accessibility of it, because it’s more so about catchy hooks, sweeping vocals, and awesome guitar solos and riffs. When I listened to stuff like that, especially mainly being into the heavier side of metal, I was surprised at what I found. I was surprised that metal can be catchy and accessible, versus brutal and extreme. Don’t get me wrong, I like brutal, extreme, and heavy stuff, but it’s cool that there are a lot of heavy metal bands that have a more accessible sound that casual mainstream listeners can get into, especially if heavier music isn’t their thing. One of the problems I have with traditional heavy metal, however, and this more so applies to power metal (they’re not the same thing, but they’re very related, because without traditional heavy metal, power metal wouldn’t be a thing, and a lot of traditional heavy metal bands have elements of power metal in their sound), is how long a lot of these albums and songs can be. Like I said, power metal is more notorious for this, because of how sweeping, huge, and ambitious a lot of these bands and albums are, but their albums go on forever, or what feels like forever, anyway. I love it when bands have shorter albums, not just in this style, but in music itself. I like my albums under 55 minutes, for the most part, unless an album has a reason for being really long or they can justify for it. Even 55 minutes is pushing it, because that’s around an hour, but it all depends on a few key things, such as the genre, the artist, and whatever they’re trying to do. It bothers me sometimes in heavy metal, especially on the more traditional heavy metal or power metal sides of the spectrum, because these bands have a tendency to meander, drag their songs on, or essentially make the same song ten to twelve times, and each one is between seven to ten minutes. When it’s done well, it doesn’t bother me as much, because at the very least, I’m into it, but it can be an issue with a lot of albums in that vein.
If you recognized the introduction of this review, you might have seen my review on Visigoth’s first album, 2015’s The Revenant King. I talked about how that record is a bit too long for my tastes, and that it overstays its welcome after awhile, even though it’s a solid record. I also talked about how I honestly prefer their new album, Conqueror’s Oath, and it’s the first album I heard from them. I’m glad that I did, because it’s a great record. It progresses from their debut album, and I always love when bands do that, because this LP builds and improves on their debut LP. For starters, this LP’s a whole lot shorter, only around 42 minutes, and I talked about that in my review of The Revenant King, but I wanted to talk about it more here, too. I feel like this LP deserves its own review, versus reviewing both albums together, because this album is one of my favorites of this year so far. It’s honestly right up there for me, but what’s most interesting about this LP is that it’s not really weird, unique, or experimental. It’s just some kick-ass heavy metal that takes me back to the 80s. I love bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Dio, so I love bands that are very similar to them. This band is exactly like that, and Conqueror’s Oath is a fantastic heavy metal album. There’s nothing to this record, really, but everything is well-written, well-performed, and the album itself is very entertaining, fun, and awesome. I love the vocals on this record, as well as the instrumentation, and it almost feels like everything got improved upon from the debut record. Not that the vocals or instrumentation were bad, but they definitely were a bit rough around the edges in spots. This LP? Not at all. They’ve improved immensely, and this whole album is amazing from start to finish. Partially that’s because it’s only 42 minutes, so it’s a very quick listen, and it makes me want to come back to it more than just a few times, but everything on the album is fantastic. My biggest issue with The Revenant King was how long it was, and how meandering some tracks got after awhile, but this one is a big improvement. It’s short, sweet, and awesome, so I absolutely love this record in every way, shape, and form.
