Steel Attack - Where Mankind Fails (1999)

They sing about dragons, swords (lots of swords) and battles.  They play very fast, with fenetic guitar solos.  They have a front cover of a dragon and a warrior, and on the back, two of the band are holding swords. And the singer is called Steve Steel.  Yes, Steel Attack know exactly what they want on this debut.
Unfortunately, it's still not much fun, since the music is pretty ordinary.  I quite like "Island Of Gods" and "Village Of Agabha", but there's just not a lot here to hang my head banging hat on (alright, hats don't head bang, and I never head bang, but that sounded like a vaguely cute turn of phrase), so When Mankind Fails is likely to fade from my mind pretty quickly.

**

Manticora - Roots Of Eternity (1999)

The first thing that struck me about this Danish band is how much singer Lars F. Larsen sounds like The Cure's Robert Smith. So maybe this could be seen as mope rock gone metal. Or maybe not.  Roots Of Eternity is a reasonable debut, a mixture of power and progressive metal, with some very fast passages mixed in with more steady moments.  It's certainly worth a listen, without being anything that carried me very far.

**1/2

Paragon - Chalice Of Steel (1999)

Paragon's third album is more snarling speed metal with enough catchiness with the likes of "Dragon's Flight", "Legions Of Metal" and "Casting Shadows" to make it worthwhile. I can't help thinking I should be complimenting this a bit more; maybe I'm hearing too much of its type at the moment, and it doesn't jump out enough to make it exceptional. But what Chalice Of Steel does, it does do well.

***

Royal Hunt - Fear (1999)

After two albums with superb vocalist DC Cooper, Royal Hunt found themselves searching for a new singer, and brought in John West, who was just finishing his time with Artension, a band that has not excited me thus far. Although not as naturally gifted as Cooper, West is still good in his own right, but it's the material here that brings the Royal Hunt standard down a bit. With just seven songs, all of at least five minutes, and starting with the brooding, moody title track, Fear has the typical, multi-layered, symphonic sound of the band, but the songs just don't grab as much as usual, making it a bit of a disappoinment. It's certainly a reasonable listen overall, but these Danes have done much better, and hopefully, they will again.

**1/2

Skylark - Divine Gates Part 1: Gate Of Hell (1999)

One problem with Skylark's output by this stage of their career has been their deficient vocals. So, with this third release, they come across a solution.  Autotune! That's the term, isn't it?  The way those teenagers usually sound (from the late nineties onwards, at any rate) when they can't actually sing properly? With that computerish touch? That's what the singers sound like here, and I have to admit this is a new one on me - autotune in heavy metal.
Needless to say, it sounds pretty horrible at times, but then, the material isn't all that great anyway. Here we have Skylark trying to do a Virgin Steele, I suppose, with the first of a series of battles between Heaven and Hell, although I can't say I tried to hard to follow the story closely.  Something about a murdered princess, with Divine Speakers and Guardian Angels arguing amongst themselves. And then we have Satan himself (although mostly known as "Belzebu" here) who, when he speaks, does not exactly incite fear into the listener. He sounds less like Old Nick and more like Saint Nick. And it's really hard to take him seriously when he proclaims, "I'm Satin!"
There are moments here that have potential. But that was my opinion on Skylark's first two albums as well. One would think that, with a grand presentation and concept like this, they'd be starting to fulfill their promise.  Maybe Part 2 (GATE OF HEAVEN) of this story will do that. Surely Heaven will be better than Hell?

**

Brainstorm - Unholy (1998)

It seems I've erred somewhere in my dating, because this album was actually released in 1998 but, for some reason, I had it down for 1999, and have only just listened to it.
Ah well. What we have here is Brainstorm's second album, and it's about on par with their first, with a lot of fast and catchy metal, although it's a bit too much at an hour. It focuses on such things as religious wars ("Holy War"), fake TV preachers ("The Healer"), laments of man ruining the Earth ("Into The Fire") and even a message of positive action for one's life ("Don't Stop Believing" - no, not the Journey song). I think there's less chanting on this than on HUNGRY, but there's no huge difference and, like I said, if it had been trimmed a bit, it might have been an overall better experience, but there's plenty to like here anyway.
Now, to get back to 1999.

***1/2

White Skull - Tales From The North (1999)

Well, this one's taken me completely by surprise. After two modest albums, White Skull unleash this monster. Focusing on Norse mythology, Tales From The North has the band finding an epic sound that grabs the listener throughout its nearly-an-hour running time, giving us melodic choruses and dynamic riffing with such songs as "Asgard", "Viking's Tomb", "Sighting And Seasting" and "Here We Are" just some of the highlights. The unmistakeable vocals of Grave Digger's Chris Boltendahl joins Federica De Boni near the beginning and the end, fitting in quite well with her rather raspy voice. Actually, it's the first time I've noticed about De Boni that she really does have terrible diction; it almost sounds like she doesn't want to open her mouth too much, and as a result, it's not always easy to follow what she's singing, even if you read the lyrics as you listen!
But this is not enough to spoil what really is a terrific album; it's taken them a few years, but White Skull has delivered with one of the best power metal albums of 1999.

****1/2

Metalium - Millennium Metal : Chapter One (1999)

German band Metalium has brought out eight chapters about the mythical fighter Metalium, who destroys heathens and kills the deceivers. Yes, he's a good chap. This debut is pounding, loud metal, at its best when it's at its fastest, as with "Fight" and "Void Of Fire", although there are some other pretty good moments as well. Henning Basse has a great voice, while Savatage guitarist Chris Caffery also lends a hand (for this record only). At times, it does seem to be more noise than substance, but this remains good metal, whether you're into the power variety or not.

***

Artension - Forces Of Nature (1999)

Sorry, I just can't get into Artension.  John West is a great singer, and one would think such a keyboard-led band would do more for me, but the music is just blah. The only thing I can remember is that "Tall Ships", rather oddly, sounds a bit like Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield." And since I'm no big fan of Pat either, that is not much recommendation.

*1/2

Domine - Dragonlord (Tales Of The Noble Steel) (1999)

Domine's second album is certainly an improvement over CHAMPION ETERNAL, with tighter writing and more melody, although it's still not all that great.  Like its predecessor, it has all the cheesey power metal ingredients of fantasy battles, moments of narration and another multi-part suite, the concluding "The Battle For The Great Silver Sword", and such songs as "Thunderstorm" are quite good, but I can't help but think Domine are still promising more than they're delivering at the moment.

***

Concerto Moon - Rain Forest (1999)

Mmmm... I'm still not sure what to make of Concerto Moon. I continue to find them hard to get into, but I did get some enjoyment from listening to this, their third album, particularly the middle section - "Half Way To The Sun", "Unstill Night" and "Live On The Memory" are all top songs in their own way.  There's plenty of strength and power in the playing, and even the notable length of some of the songs doesn't bother me too much. It's doubtful these Japanese fellows will ever become one of my favourite bands, but they do seem to be getting gradually better to my ears as I progress through their catalogue.

***1/2

Primal Fear - Jaws Of Death (1999)

Primal Fear's second album continues their Judas Priest worshipping in ferocious and angry fashion with a snarling, pounding collection of heavy metal tracks that might not break any new ground, but succeed at what they do. Particularly of note is "Church Of Blood", an anti-religious war song with an almost Christian slant.

***1/2

Freedom Call - Stairway To Fairyland (1999)

If anyone asks what could you show them that exemplifies power metal, there are a number of albums you could try, but you simply could not go wrong with Freedom Call's debut Stairway To Fairyland.  Call it "happy metal", "gay metal", cheesey or whatever you want, but this is just glorious. The first two songs, "Over The Rainbow" and "Tears Falling", set the tone straight away with their vigorous, passionate playing and flying choruses, and there's just hardly a let up afterwards. Song after song treats us to wonderful melodies and wonderful performances of those melodies, as we're taken on a trip to the land of Taragon and their fight for redemption. Or something along those lines.
I can't help but think the second half is a bit lesser than the first, but more listens could snap me out of that. I'm sticking with four and a half stars in my rating for now, but maybe that will change.
I'll certainly be taking the stairway to fairyland again soon.

EDIT: Yes, another listen has snapped me out of that. This is five stars, no mistake. Wonderful stuff, from beginning to end.

*****

Nocturnal Rites - The Sacred Talisman (1999)

Nocturnal Rites' third album is more straightforward and vigorous power metal with fantasy indulgences. In a way, there's something nondescript about these Swedes - they don't do enough to really stand out from the growing crowd, and they can be a bit samey, but, at the same time, they're quite disarming, and the passion for what they do is obvious.
With highlights including "Ride On", "Free At Last", "When Fire Comes To Ice" and "Glorious", this record remains enjoyable enough to be worthwhile.

***

Insania - World Of Ice (1999)

Sweden again, and this time we have the debut of Insania, and it's not terribly successful. With all the songs bar one written by drummer Mikko Korsback, things start pretty well with such tracks as "Fighting My Tears" and "Fire", but, while those two are hardly revolutionary anyway, they shine compared with the ordinary stuff to follow.  And as for the lyrics... I'm not saying power metal has to be about dragons and damsels in distress all the time (just often), but "Private Sex-Machine" goes where few of the genre like to tread as the chorus states, "Rolling around in the bed full of sweat, our paradise show is so wet/Don't Wake me up if I sleep and have a dream, let me be your private sex machine." The ballad "Forever Is A Long Time" is 'cleaner', but also horribly corny.
Overall, this is not a bad album, but there's much room for improvement.

**1/2

Crystal Eyes - World Of Black And Silver (1999)

Sweden's Crystal Eyes make it clear straight away that they know what they want in power metal - lyrics that mix space with fantasy, fast tempo, and melodious songs, all of which follow the standard verse-bridge-chorus structure. A problem I have with this debut is that vocalist/guitarist/main songwriter Mikael Dahl's voice is not loud enough in the mix for much of the album, which offsets some of the good tunes found in the likes of "Gods Of The World" and "The Dragon's Lair". The other problem is that, after a while, the tracks start to lose their appeal as it goes, and it eventually just lies there a bit.
Don't get me wrong, I think this is a good record overall, but Crystal Eyes (I assume the name is a variation of the word "crystalise"?) still have work to do to really hit power metal bull's eye.

***

Narnia - Long Live The King (1999)

The second album by Swedish Christian band Narnia is a definite improvement over AWAKENING, with more solid writing and reasonably catchy melodies, even if they don't reach any enormous heights. Highlights include "Shelter Through The Pain", "The Lost Son" and the anti-drug "Dangerous Game", while the lyrics, with a definite Christian slant, aren't very strong in that area, but there's nothing essentially wrong with them either.

***

Morifade - Possession Of Power (1999)

In my quest to reach the farthest most reaches of power metal as possible, I know that I'll come across some dreck (which I just suffered recently, although I am lead to believe Highlord do get better), but I'm also hoping for some nice surprises, and I have one here from the full length debut album by Swedish band Morifade.
It's full of fantasy and a nice, symphonic sound, plus choral vocals which do well at supplimenting Stefan Petersson's quite good voice, while there are songs that have genuinely melodious appeal with the likes of "Dragonlord", "To Live Forever" and the beautiful "A Northern Rhyme", while the concluding "Ancient Prophecy" has them entering dramatic Dungeons and Dragons with success.
Possession Of Power, which came after the EP "Across The Starlit Sky", which is included on the copy of the CD I have, but I have not listend to, is no classic, but it's very good at what it does, and Morifade have quickly entered my category of Power Metal Bands To Watch.
Well... to listen to.

***1/2

Highlord - Heir Of Power (1999)

On the surface, Highlord's debut "Heir Of Power" has a lot going for it. The band has a good name, the album cover is eye-catching, and there are titles like "Will Of A King", "Bloodwar In Heaven" and "Land Of Eternal Ice". And they're from Italy! Rhapsody's from Italy!
But there are three factors that work against the record. 1) The material is tuneless and boring. You'd find more hooks in a balloon shop. 2) Singer Vasce is not very good. And 3) Thanks to the thin production, the guitars sound like kazoos! I mean, really! When the early "Through The Wind" first started playing, I seriously thought to myself 'are those kazoos??'
Needless to say, I did not like this album. At all.  It is tedious in the extreme, and remains, to date, the worst power metal album I've ever heard.  Highlord are not  Rhapsody. They're not even Skylark.
On this album at least, they're dreadful.

*

At Vance - No Escape (1999)

German band At Vance (these Germans just don't stop) has become one of the more successful power metal acts around, one of their unusual traits is their habit of doing rather oddball covers, the one here being ABBA's "Money, Money, Money" (with one less "Money" in the title, presumably to try and make it their own all the more), which is followed by a portion of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons". With the ballad "Lost In Your Love" that comes next, this debut album is almost broken up into two halves, as most of the rest is pretty basic material, some of which is kind of ordinary (like "No Escape" and the concluding "Seven Seas"), while others ("Flying High", "All For One, One For All", "Power & Glory") are nice rather than mighty, making this is a pleasantly enjoyable listen more than a brilliant one. But Main man Olaf Lenk is great on his axe, and Oliver Hardmann is a very impressive vocalist, so one suspects there's more to At Vance than just what we have here.

***

Symphorce - Truth To Promises (1999)

This debut for German band Symphorce has come as a very pleasant surprise for me, since I couldn't really remember a lot from it when I gave it a few listens a while ago. But there are a lot of fetching melodies in this collection, with the likes of "Wounded", "Retracing The Line", "Stronghold" and the ballad "Forevermore" amongst the highlights. Steady more than fast, Truth To Promises remains an impressive commencement to this group's career.

***1/2

Gamma Ray - Power Plant (1999)

Busy old Kai Hansen appears again at the beginning of 1999 with Gamma Ray's sixth album, and it is arguably the band's best to date. After a bit of a slow start, there is plenty of pounding, speeding, melodious metal here, with some great guitar solos and exhilerating passages as they sing about some science fiction/end of the world kind of stuff.
In the middle of it all is, oddly, a cover of Pet Shop Boys' "It's A Sin", which seems quite out of place, but even more oddly, I find the original more powerful! And following that is a Hansen original, "Heavy Metal Universe" which, when I first heard it, thought it must be from some Manowar collection. But such songs as "Strangers In The Night" (showcasing drummer Dan Zimmermann's knack for writing melodies), "Gardens Of The Sinner", "Hand Of Fate" and the concluding "Armageddon" are excellent, and the record overall a very enjoyable listen.

****

Mob Rules - Savage Land (1999)

German band Mob Rules debuted with this concept album, about the world in the future, and its fight over oil and scant water. In Klaus Dirks, the band has an excellent vocalist, and it's all very professionally done, but the material is not terribly memorable; two songs that stick out in my mind are "Rain Song" and "Pray For Sunlight", although the concluding "End Of All Days" is pretty good.
Overall, this is unremarkable, steady metal, with little fury (which is not wrong in itself), that just offers enough to suggest they can go further.

**1/2

Edguy - Theater Of Salvation (1999)

Edguy continue their gradual rise with this sometimes magnificent album.  They have power metal down pat by now, with a consistent array of fast, invigorating and tuneful songs, with passionate instrumentation and enthralling choral vocals, although one should not overlook Tobias Sammet's own voice, which I was not very complimentary about earlier, but has certainly improved by this stage.
However, I'm afraid the subject matter of Theater Of Salvation goes against my own Christian beliefs, which is hardly really surprising, since it attempts to buck the trend of traditional religion and go for the find-salvation-within-yourself view.  This is particularly obvious on the otherwise-glorious, twelve-minute, concluding title track.  Sammet has a right to such views, of course. I've also got a right to disagree with them. :-)  And, I'm afraid, this all has me docking half a star from my rating, and taking just a bit of enjoyment away from the record.
Having said that, it still is full of postive messages, and the music remains quite wonderful at times, highlights (as well as the aforementioned song) including "The Headless Game",  "Land Of The Miracle" and "Arrows Fly".

****

Iron Savior - Unification (1999)

Alrighty, time to go again, and it's 1999, with loooots to listen to. Power metal had really taken hold by now, with new bands appearing from all over the place (even the southern hemisphere occasionally), but also "older" ones making appearances.
German band Iron Savior debuted in 1997 with a reasonably good, self-titled release as they started their story of a space station with a mind of its own, and they up the ante here.  The song writing is much more strong this time around, with some excellent and consistent music throughout.  I still can't help again think that it could have done with a bit more variety, even though I can enjoy some records without much of that. I look back now at Unification  and find it hard to pick out too many songs that particularly grabbed me - the victory-claiming "Unchained" is the one that comes to mind at present. And yet I enjoyed it pretty much throughout, with its fast riffing and Piet Sielck's excellent vocals.  Thankfully, he does most of the singing - he certainly has a better voice than Kai Hanson.
It's also nice to see, again, photos of the band that don't have them scowling or brooding every which way.  Unlike most rock peformers, Iron Savior actually look like they're enjoying themselves.

***1/2

Still here

I'm still around, and will be starting up 1999 in about a week's time. :-) I'm listening up on a lot of albums I haven't heard yet, before sitting down to go through them all "properly".
Of course, since no-one really reads this blog, what I'm saying is probably a waste of time, but you never know. :-P