Black Majesty – In Your Honour

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Australians Black Majesty are one of the most consistent, if not adventurous, power metal bands on the current circuit and produce albums at a steady two-to-three year rate, which may mean they don’t have as much material and are not in the public eye as much as the likes of Metalium, but does mean that their albums are of a certain quality at all times. Most of the songs here are good examples of standard power metal. They’re more or less formulaic, but the excellent production and avoidance of too many sickly harmonies, and particularly Steve Janevski’s and Hanny Mohamed’s guitar solos, make them excellent exponents of that formula. A genuinly passionate Break These Chains is a real highlight and an example of just how good power metal can be, but rarely is, amongst a set of otherwise high-speed, heavy tracks that recall Iced Earth (Witching Hour, Wishing Well) and Judas Priest (Far Beyond‘s lead guitar intro is almost exactly the same as the one from Victim of Changes) as well as more typical bands like Stratovarius, but without the excessive keyboard niceties. Anthemic tracks like Follow stand out above the truly by-the-book ones like God of War and Millenium, and fans looking for something different or wholly original won’t find it here, but anyone looking for some standard power metal done well can do no better than this.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2010, Albums, Power Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Black Majesty