Tad Morose - Leaving The Past Behind (1993)

First album from this Swedish band is not as speedy as one would expect from power metal, with more of a gothic (reflected by the cover), slightly doomy approach, with atmospheric keyboards adding a welcome touch.  It's a reasonable listen, but not terribly imaginative.  Best songs include "Miracle" and particularly "Save Me".
Kristian Andren's vocals are quite good, but it would help if he didn't put the letter "W" before words that start with "I".

**1/2

Grave Digger - The Reaper (1993)

Alrighty, Grave Digger.
I have the first three albums of this German band, and have quite liked them, but have been put off by Chris Boltendahl's throaty, growly lyrics, which almost seem to be a parody.  This is their first album in seven years and, if the title doesn't make it obvious, it's about death.
Lots of death. 
I don't get into Satanism and stuff with music (or anything else), which is why I don't collect Slayer, and lost interest in Exodus after BONDED IN BLOOD, but when it's rather comic book in style, like it is here, I don't mind too much.  The music is fast, but not terribly imaginative. And yet there is some amusing fun to be had here, which is why I give it three stars.

***

Royal Hunt - Clown In The Mirror (1993)

Royal Hunt's second album again has the standard heavy metal sound augmented by songwriter Andre Andersen's keyboards (he plays guitar as well), and it's a pleasant listen, without being anything outstanding, and a notch below their debut.
***

Rage - The Missing Link (1993)

Rage tend to be a bit inconsistent from album to album, but this is their best one to date. It's regularly catchy from the get go, and even a lengthy song like the nine and a half minute "Lost In The Ice" doesn't outstay its welcome. There are a couple of negatives, like the rather irritating tin-can-sound of the drums on the otherwise good "From The Underworld", but this is a top listen overall.

****

Gamma Ray - Insanity & Genius (1993)

With Helloween not sure where they were going in the early nineties, Kai Hanson's offshoot, Gamma Ray, were still very much into power metal.  After the rather disappointing SIGH NO MORE, this album is something of an improvement, although it's rather haphazard.  It starts well with the rousing "Tribute To The Past" and "No Return", before things get rather spotty. The song "Gamma Ray" and "Insanity & Genius" have their moments, as does the Queen-inspired opus "Heal Me", while "Brothers" concludes things pretty well, but it still can't match the consistent quality of their debut, HEADING FOR TOMORROW".This was the band's last album to feature Ralf Scheepers on vocals, Hansen himself taking up the roll again for their next release, LAND OF THE FREE.

***

Angra - Angels Cry (1993)

This marks the first time I've ever listened to a Brazillian band, and I have to say Angra is very impressive with this debut release.
A mixture of power and progressive metal, with regular changes in time signatures from song to song, it carries a dignity and grace which is quite captivating throughout, but this doesn't compromise the genuine power that remains present.
Vocalist Andre Matos' voice, often quite high and flying, is a bit strained, but it suits the material quite well, even on the cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights".  Perhaps a bit worryingly, he fits into the role of Cathy with ease.
Such songs as "Carry On", "Angels Cry" (with its brief nod to Paganini's 'Caprice no. 24' classical piece) and "Evil Warning" are winning with their melodiousness and skilful playing, helping to make the record a pleasure to listen to. 

****

Helloween - Chameleon (1993)

After polarising opinion with PINK BUBBLES GO APE, Helloween did it even more with this follow-up, the double album Chameleon.
Music in the nineties had a few curses, one of which was dreadfully overlong albums, so the thought of a double tends to make me cringe all the more. But at just over seventy minutes, this is shorter than some single albums from that time, so I suppose it's not horrifying.
As for the material itself, with brass, orchestras, etc making appearances, it's certainly eclectic (Michael Kiske, Michael Weikath and Roland Grapow wrote four songs each) but not too bad. "When The Sinner" is clearly the best song, while "First Time" is pretty good, and "Windmill" is nice, but it does lose my interest as it goes. 
After this, vocalist Kiske and drummer Ingo Schichtenberg left the group, and they went to something approaching their "traditional" sound, much to the relief of many.

**1/2

Virgin Steele - Life Among The Ruins (1993)

Virgin Steele's first album in five years is much reviled by many for its blues/metal style, very different from their other work. They sound rather like Whitesnake here (further enhanced by David DeFeis' vocals being similar to David Coverdale's), a band I'm not terribly fond of.  Having said that, this album starts off pretty well, but soon becomes quite tedious, and reaches its nadir with ballads in the second half like "I Never Believed In Good-bye", "Wildfire Woman" and "Cry Forever".
Overall, "Life Among The Ruins" is not too bad, but it's easy to see why so many hate it, especially those familiar with the rest of the band's catalogue.

**

Axxis - The Big Thrill (1993)

I'm not sure why I like Axxis as much as I do.  Their music isn't all that remarkable, and I still don't go for Bernhard Weiss' voice.  So it must be the fact that they can be quite catchy, which is demonsrated here with the likes of "Against A Brick Wall", "No Advice", "Brother Moon" and the concluding "Road To Never Neverland."
The Big Thrill is no classic, but it remains an enjoyable listen.

***1/2

Stratovarius - Twilight Time (1992)

Stratovarius's second album is a modest listen, with moments of melodic interest with the likes of "The Hands Of Time", but it's nothing great, and the killer-on-the-loose themed "Madness Strikes At Midnight", something that bands like Iron Maiden like to indulge in, is very out of place.

**

Royal Hunt - Land Of Broken Hearts (1992)

This Danish band initially appealed to me because of their name. Does anyone just sometimes get grabbed by a group's name, without really knowing much about them? Of course, I also knew they were metal (of various groupings, from what I've seen), so I decided to look into them.
And I like this debut.  Heavy on keyboards as well as guitar, both played by Andre Andersen (who is really the leader here, even though the quite impressive vocalist is Henrik Brockmann), this is nothing revolutionary, being in the verse-bridge-chorus style, but it's really catchy, and with a touch of folk, with highlights including the opening "Running Wild", "Land Of Broken Hearts" and "Kingdom Dark".
I am keen to see what else Royal Hunt has to offer after this impressive commencement of their career.

***1/2

Manowar - The Triumph Of Steel (1992)

Well, this was rather disappointing.  Manowar's previous KINGS OF METAL, from four years before, reached a wonderful peak of melody mixed with power, but this one has them stepping back from that quite considerably.
It all looks like fun. It starts with the twenty-eight minute extravaganza "Archilles, Agony And Ecstasy In Eight Parts" which is, well, in eight parts, as it describes the details of the Iliad, in which the battles between Hector and Archilles and suchlike are to the fore, and we then have seven other songs that cover such things as fighting dragons ("Ride The Dragon") and battles between white men and Indians ("Spirit Horse Of The Cherokee") while, of course, there's also the inevitable statement for heavy metal ("Metal Warriors" - if you're not into metal, then you're a wimp and not a friend of Manowar). It is impressive to a degree, but it just goes on forever (almost seventy minutes) and there's little in the way of attractive melodies. No choirs, no orchestras... Yes, I know, many metal heads would say "So?? Listen to the solos! Listen to Eric Adams' screaming vocals!" And this is where I... er... fall short when it comes to my love for metal.  What KINGS OF METAL brought is what I like most in the genre, and it's what THE TRIUMPH OF STEEL does not bring. 
The concluding ballad, "Master Of The Wind", probably hurts most since, while nice, it reminds me of the glorious "The Crown And The King (Lament Of The Kings)" from Kings, but falls well short.
This is not a record I would keep rushing back to, both because of its overlength and limited musical appeal. For me, anyway.

**1/2

Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)

Alright, that clinches it. As of 1992, Blind Guardian is my favourite power metal band. After the glories of TALES FROM THE TWILIGHT WORLD, they match it with this wonderful release. It furthers there progression towards their ecclectic power/folk/speed metal in the most breathtaking way, with the likes of "Journey Through The Dark", the anthemic "The Quest For Tanelorn" and the concluding title track mighty pieces.  And near the end of it all, there's a minute of bagpipes! Bagpipes! I love bagpipes!  Hansi Kursch's vocals are superb and, while it's not quite as consistently fast as Tales, this record remains one terrific listen.
To think that, through the 90s, which was a horrible decade for me anyway, I was wasting my time with grunge and alternative (the bands who I'd heard of because they made the news, and I thought I should listen to them), when this kind of music was being produced without my knowledge.
God bless Wikipedia and YouTube.

****1/2

Rage - Trapped! (1992)

Rage's sixth album (Sixth! They're zooming along) is often very impressive, with such songs as "Solitary Man", the anti-war "Enough Is Enough", "Take Me To The Water" and a cover of Accept's "Fast As A Shark" standing out, although it's probably a bit too long.  But there is enough impressive diversity here, showing genuine progression, to make it one of the band's best releases to date.

***1/2