Limb Music/Sound Pollution
BLACLK MAJESTY started out as KYMERA, which was probably taken why they switched names. Two years they spent working on their debut “Sands of Time”, released in 2003. From then on they have been releasing discs just about every other year, with the exception of “In Your Honour”, which took three years to be made. The band seems to have withstood the pressure and consists of vocalist John Cavaliere, guitarists Steve Janevski and Hanny Mohamed, drummer Pavel KOnvalinka, and …that´s it, there has never been a steady bass player. For live and studio time they rely on buddies, that´s one way of doing it. Roland Grapow has mixed again, and the cover adds some modern touch to that classic RAINBOW song that might just have been the object of the title…
Nine tracks, plus a bonus that is different in Europe, Australia as well as in Japan, but in these shores it is the acoustic “Shine”. If you are into IRON MAIDEN and HELLOWEEN you will recognize this outing. Who isn´t? So I guess the fan-bas has a strong shot at growing the more doubtful the idols´ futures become. There is a lot of melody, a lot of German speed and English classic metal tinges, as well as the band´s ability for arrangements. To me there is mainly one boring track, “Voice of Change, which has too little features on its own. I could wish for even a tad more sing-along friendly refrains, but still BLACK MAJESTY performs a nice take on classic metal aimed at the masses. I think their finest moments are “Killing Hand”, “Edge of the World” and the title track. The riffs, the thundering rhythm, the speed, and the ever-important element of recognition – for the drunken moshpit… Everything is really there. With just a daring touch of audience friendliness more “Holy Killers” and opener “Falling” would have been up there too. As the surprise of closing track “Shine” rings out I actually discovered a MR. BIG tinged MTV friendly song that could have been a massive seller in the eighties. All-in-all, this is quite excellent, a worthy purchase for the lot of you.
Track List
Falling
Lost Horizon
Voice of Change
Killing Hand
Journey to the Soul
Holy Killers
Symphony of Death
Edge of the World
Stargazer
Shine (Bonus Track)
www.limb-music.com www.myspace.com/blackmajesty
