Label: Tmina Records
Date: October 31st, 2021
– “This album sounds familiar Mr. Frodo”.
– “That’s because we’ve heard it before Sam. We’re going in circles”.
No, we are not, dear attentive readers. Sure, Ivona already handled “Master of Peace”, and thoroughly. I’ve done it too, but in a different magazine. Not so thoroughly, I must admit. Nevertheless, here we go again. From a CD this time, with four bonus tracks. So, forgive me if I focus a bit more on the bonuses. Search for the other reviews on Abaddon Magazine website and Headshot Music Magazine.
But before I go down this road, swarming with vampire queens, sky painters and demon hunters, I must refer to the fact that the leader of this pack looks an awful lot like a younger version of me. It’s uncanny, which reminds me that I need to take a photo with Mr. Letić, as soon as possible. Mind you, this resemblance is even more unbelievable if you consider Đorđe Letić was already practicing metal virtuosity with Armageddon while I still had to use diapers. And he still looks ten years younger than me. A recipe, if you don’t mind maestro?
On a less personal note, Armageddon is practicing power metal of the earliest era. The German one in particular. Like old Helloween or Blind Guardian. So, end of the 1980’s or perhaps first half of the 1990’s, in case of Blind Guardian, with all the epic megaliths included. Listen closely to “Sky Painter” and tell me if you’re reminded of something. Plus, Armageddon also has a famous author as a source of inspiration, Edgar Allan Poe. As portrayed by an amazing rendition of “Annabel Lee”. “El Dorado”, for instance, was covered on previous releases.
Now, the main characteristic of this Serbian orchestra is the purity of their thought and creation. This record, as well as their previous efforts, bleeds honesty and untainted desire to perform music. No ulterior motives, no rock star attitude, money grabbing filth… Pure love of power heavy metal. All of that is clearly heard within these fifty minutes. What’s more, Đorđe Letić pulled together an army of extremely talented musicians to help him along the way. Well, he did most of the instrumental work on “Master of Peace”, with just a little bit of help. On the other hand, an elite division of vocalists that color the album is unbelievable. No big names, huge stars of the genre or such, sorry to disappoint you. But there’s still quite a few magnificent sets of vocal chords out here. Not the least being a female one, featured in the bonus, alternate version of mentioned “Sky Painter”. Provided by Mrs. Betsa. Excellent work.
By the way, speaking again of the same song, the lyrics and the overall theme make me think of Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Yeah, my imagination is probably running wild there, but that’s my first impression.
So, what do you think? Should you give a chance to ancient gold? Look for your own “El Dorado”, so to speak? Yes, you should, because some day you are likely to dig this up anyway and ask yourself how you managed to miss it before. Armageddon is almost thirty five years old. For a band out of Serbia, that’s quite an accomplishment. Hell, it is an accomplishment for any band, anywhere. Do you want to know the secret? Look above, two paragraphs up. First couple of sentences. Pure passion! How often do you get that in a band nowadays?
The album is available on LP and CD at Tmina Records, a subsidiary of Grom Records, and the assorted distributors worldwide. Get it, that’s an order!
