As the owner of progressive/power metal record label Nightmare Records and former vocalist of underground classic bands such as Balance of Power and Pyramaze, Lance King’s pedigree, experience and success in the metal scene far exceed what many metal musicians will ever hope to attain, or even dream of. It was not until 2011, however, that he attempted to create an Ayreon-style solo album, with himself as the singer-lyricist (the only singer, unlike Mr. Lucassen’s projects) and many of his labelmates, business associates and musical contemporaries lending instrumental talents. The result of this collective effort is an hour of progressive, heavy power metal with extensive, thought-provoking lyrical depth, written, recorded, and produced in mere weeks. If this task sounds too incredible to be attained, it usually is, and King’s only slightly imperfect attempt is the only flaw worth mentioning, but the vast majority of A Moment in Chiros is a top-shelf example of its genre and a perfect introduction to the legendary singer’s career.

The biggest pitfall of solo projects is becoming a one-person performance at the expense of the individual musicians involved, and while this grants A Moment in Chiros high marks in the coherence front, it also feels slightly more homogeneous than expected from a combination of progressive, power and heavy metal musicians. Anubis Gate guitarist Kim Olesen holds the most instrumental credit, playing guitar, bass and keyboards across the album and something on every track, plus writing the music on track 5 and jointly on track 6, and a significant degree of the music is sonically similar to the Danish melodic prog metal group. The ethereal piano intro to Infinity Divine, though actually written by Harmony/7days/Darkwater mastermind Markus Sigfridsson, sounds almost like the introduction of Anubis Gate’s self-titled CD; also like the Danes, the songs are built off chunky, chugging riffs and rollicking, dramatic chords, but King’s approach is slightly heavier and less progressive. The disadvantage of such methods is that most of the metal parts sound similar to everyone else’s, somewhat decreasing the potential for diversity this album could have had; wisely, he works at otherwise differentiating the compositions to minimize this problem, adding ambient, classical and various ethnic influences throughout the album’s duration. The dreamy title track numbers at 7:33, progressing from an exotic acoustic/spoken word introduction into misty keyboards, a dark riff sequence, the most noticeable and distinct bass work on the album, and an immediately attractive, memorable chorus line; the prominent orchestral flavor of Infinity Divine (with violins performed by the young Tomy King, an occasional performer alongside his father) and island percussion accompaniment to the syncopated verses of Sacred Systems are intelligently handled, assist the songwriting, and sustain the album until its finish.

A Moment in Chiros can be an aural adventure indeed, but also vital to unlocking its secrets is the lyrics booklet. King underwent comprehensive research before writing the album, with his principal interest the 11:11 time phenomenon; its gist is that many observers around the world noticed unusually frequent occurrences of this time when off-handedly viewing clocks, cultivating beliefs that the number has a spiritual meaning or is a signal from unseen supernatural forces of their presence, an upcoming major event on 11/11/11 11:11:11 or various reductions, or a clue in a greater puzzle. The album was initially intended to be released on that date (but came out four days earlier instead), and I appropriately listened front to back on 11/11/11. Numbers, such as three and eight, are one of the many running conceptual themes, including philosophy, politics and world issues, corruption, discovery of the soul, and the occasional drop into personal Christianity. Of special note is the title track, about the timeless dimension called “Kairos Time” in which God is held to operate, allowing for perfect timing in any circumstances. Mr. King is renowned for his stunning adaptability to many different musical adaptations and 4.5-octave range; the dominant key of A Moment in Chiros is low B, allowing for more exploration of lower registers. The overall result is a well-rounded vocal performance that does the lyrical material justice.

The ominous, blistering Dance of Power criticizes the power structure and deception of the U.S. government, where King’s more incendiary metal vocals and acerbic delivery of lines like “Ethics are hard to find in Washington’s deaf, dumb and blind” join with high-range wails in a rally for change. Equally heavy is A Given Choice, combining aggression with mysterious symphonic melodies as the album’s narrator realizes he cannot run away from his destiny; the concise, punchy drumming of Morten Gade Sørensen (also of Pyramaze) fills out the song with a double bass groove. On the lighter end, Kibou is a piano ballad dedicated to the 2011 disasters in Japan, carrying an inspiring statement of hope and how it is always brought out of great tragedy; this is an unusual environment for the prolific singer, but he handles it equally adeptly. Towards the end of the album, the varied styles meld to create overall more progressive and stronger musical statements: Sacred Systems is written by eclectic composer/guitarist Michael Harris (Darkology, Thought Chamber), and its exotic flavor ranges from the spacey introduction to a beguiling arabesque main theme, ethnic percussion and an epic unison interlude of bass, acoustic guitars and echoing bells. The first half of the album is more typical of slightly progressive power metal and comes closer to the ordinary; Awakening has some excellent ideas, including the riff interlude at 3:09 and the tale of searching for an afterlife in the wake of tragedy, and is rock-solid overall, but better things are yet to come.

Perhaps, though, this progression into more sophisticated, experimental territories is a statement about the journey of A Moment in Chiros: from doubt to certainty, from apprehension to honest expression, and from delusion to perfect faith. Its musical and lyrical execution, passion and professionalism betray the immense integrity of its leader, and in closing, I shall testify to this. I have been in contact with Lance for months before the release of this album, and he has been one of the most knowledgeable, gracious and trustworthy figures in the metal scene, with an extensive library of metal albums. Additionally, he is willing to stand up for what he believes in; proceeds from each sale of A Moment in Chiros will be donated to anti-human trafficking organization Not For Sale. I have ordered many CDs from Nightmare Records, and several of them (special shout-out to Utah prog metal band Hourglass) have played an integral role in rescuing my life and faith in God from a dead end. The concept of “Kairos Time” on this CD has been a lesson on patience and waiting for that perfect moment when my actions will have the greatest impact on the world. King’s arrival in my life did that for me, and recent events have convinced me it was always meant to happen. Do not let A Moment in Chiros pass your ears unnoticed, because the same could be true for you.

"An awakening has come, your destiny reborn.
It's time to make a choice, power your true voice.
The hope that has drawn near, infinity you hear..."

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/user/jybt ... See More

Judas Priest are one of the most important bands in the history of metal. They exist since the 1970s and have influenced thousands and thousands of acts. Yet the pinnacle of their career coincides with a record released just in 1990, probably the most extreme and heavy of their entire discography.

It obviously is Painkiller, one of the most powerful albums in the history of music. In facts, while the first records were still quite "delicate", while remaining metal, this is the musical version of taking a hammer to the teeth.

To confirm this, the titletrack starts with Scott Travis pounding the drums and a nice riff, not particularly fast but pressing and completely devastating. There is not a moment of rest for the whole song, which runs for six minutes between rapid solos, apocalyptic scenarios starring the splendid metal angel portrayed on the famous cover and Rob Halford demonstrating all of his vocal power with absolutely perfect screams. There's a reason it's a metal anthem now. Hell patrol is slower and perhaps more catchy and controlled but equally engaging, as well as a second magnificent opportunity to admire the band's technique, and All guns blazing, another fast and violent piece, in just three minutes destroys the listener's resistance to the power of metal.

Lether rebel is the most melodic song, although characterized by rapid verses, a bombing bridge and an explosive refrain, but it is just the calm before the storm. Metal meltdown, track number five, is, as you can guess from the name, even more destructive than Painkiller. After a very technical initial solo, the descent into molten metal begins (and Halford almost breaks through the sound barrier with his vocal prowess). Night crawler is introduced by a disturbing choir and proceeds with a full-blown horror atmosphere created by distressing riffs, a scratchy voice and a spoken interlude that describes the physical and psychological sufferings of a monster's unfortunate victims.

Between the hammer and the anvil is more regular, but the riff is still perfect, fast and suspended between hardness and melody, the drums really look like a hammer that beats on an anvil and the voice, as well as being powerful as usual, provides other vocalizations which are certainly enviable. The start and end are very peculiar, slow and oscillating, perfect to create expectation. A touch of evil begins wonderfully with the tolling of a bell and a rather gothic keyboard sparkle and continues even better with a mid-tempo with sensual and desperate tones. Battle hymn lasts less than a minute, but it is slow, solemn and bewitching enough to lead to the final piece, One shot at glory. The latter is the closest thing to a power metal song that has ever been inserted in a record of another genre, with lots of epic and warlike lyrics, and it is perfect thanks to the mixture of speed, melody and aggression.

The line-up is the classic one and you can hear it. After all they are musicians of the highest level, among the best of the last fifty years, and in this album they really show off all their skills, both in terms of technique and of expressive ability. Few releases can make understand what metal really is in its purest essence and Painkiller is one of them.

In addition to the music, the lyrics are also heavier than the rest of the Priest discography. They are dystopian, apocalyptic, even horrifying, and even come to touch on "uncomfortable" but always fascinating themes such as religion and sin (Between the hammer and the anvil and A touch of evil).

The result is pure metal ready to overwhelm the inexperienced listener (but also the expert one). Despite how many artists it has influenced, it is a unique album of its kind, which has also remained unsurpassed by its predecessors and successors. And this is why it is legendary and will always be.

Best tracks: Painkiller, Metal meltdown, Between The Hammer and The Anvil ... See More

Straight off the cricket bat : the band disowns this album so by that virtue alone it’s one of their worst albums. But seriously, this is very much a curiosity in Metal music history – I suppose it’s still strictly a hard rock album, but Deaf Leopard never were all too certain about their own actual "metalness". By the time they’d actually realised how to write more than two good songs per record they’d all but ditched anything that could be considered "NWOBHM" for the frankly excellent AC/DC-derived hard rock of High N Dry. Then of course, they realised the fastest way out of Sheffield was via pop music and they actually were successful with that for a time being.

Deaf Leopard was technically one of the big bands to emerge from the "NWOBHM" movement – but the actual "NWOBHM" pedigree of this album is somewhat doubtful : metallic qualities aren’t really pronounced much outside of ‘Wasted’. Therefore we’d be best to compare this more to Demon than to Iron Maiden or Saxon… but that in itself would be a little silly (did I mention that Deaf Leopard are a massive anomaly in the "NWOBHM" movement?) So in all actuality – and probably much to Joe Elliot’s delight – this is very difficult to judge as a metal record, as it really isn’t.

Interestingly – or is that amusingly? – it’s clear that though born and raised in the same rock ’n’ roll slum as those around them in the NWOBHM movement, Deaf Leopard had their eyes very much set on pop stardom even in their earliest days. ‘Hello America’ is of course what I’m talking about – it somewhat infamously alienated them to the British music press, and though this in itself is something I wholehearted endorse (has anyone actually read Kerrang! magazine lately, sheesh!) I can’t say the same for the song. Unadulterated shite. In as blunt terms as I can possibly describe. Why is it that British bands so often fall into the trap of figuring the only way to crack the American market is to sing about the nation itself? I think the ‘Dumb American’ idea has been greatly overstressed. Let’s just spell this out to end a problem that was fairly rife about 20-30 years ago (I know, I’m really helping matters, right?): Americans (nor peoples of any other nation, for that matter) aren’t inherently thick – you don’t sell records over there simply by singing about their nation. “Hey, they’re singing about us! I’m going to buy four copies of On Through the Night!” Deaf Leopard, having never left their native Sheffield, obviously were misguided enough to believe this was the case and as such inflicted us with this downright awful pop-rock song. Leppard’s signature vocal harmonies rear their ugly head here adding to the overwhelming cheese factor, as do some skittering synthesisers that make me cringe like a parent who’s just dropped their precious infant into a scolding bath. Ouch, the NSPCC is going to hear about that one! As I’m still at the crossroads between adulthood and being legally classified as a child I’d like to do the same – but unfortunately, I paid for this record out of my own pocket and therefore I don’t think this would stand up in court. Surprisingly enough, Def Leppard got a foot in the door with the American market with ‘Bringing on the Heartbreak’, a predictable yet successful ballad. So, from that alone one could devise that improved song writing was the key to Leppard’s success (again it’s amusing that they soon forgot how to do that… and they say the only joke about Def Leppard is “what’s got 9 arms and sucks?”).

As for the rest well it’s generally a sort of UFO/Scorpions/Thin Lizzy derived hard rock with some frankly unwelcome quasi-progressive touches (see: the intro to ‘When the Walls Come Tumbling Down’). Song-craft is somewhat unsure but rather diverse as this Wounded Cougar really isn’t too sure at what they want to be yet. It would seem the rock world is all to keen to single out a band’s debut as their best; one only has to look at the world spate of unfocused, bumbling debuts to see that often this simply isn’t the case. The band wear their influences on their sleeves: the aforementioned three 70s hard rock bands rub shoulders with touches of AC/DC, T-Rex and even a bit of Killing Machine era Priest (or should that be Hell Bent For Leather? I mean I should be going for a bit of that ol’ ‘Hello America’ appeal myself, right?). Clichés are the order of the day. This is also true of the High N Dry record, but frankly though that was something of a clichéd hard rock record that wore its influences on its sleeve – it still has an undeniable charm to it and quite easily ranks as the band’s finest hour for me.

That said there are a couple of worthwhile moments present on this indecisive debut record. ‘Wasted’ is the band’s best claim to ever playing anything remotely metallic, and it’s not just that gives it its place as On Through the Night’s stellar track: it’s the only really track here that doesn’t leave something to be desired from. I love its lyrical ambiguity, too. Is the bottle of pills actually a bottle of pills? Or is it indeed a bottle of Pils (as in Holsten)? Something would reason me to believe that it could well be simple pilsner rather than any medication as the NHS had all but abandoned its hold on the South Yorkshire region given the ritual burning of those in the medical profession in and around 1978 due to a misunderstanding about the application of suppositories. Ahem, yes, but it’s one of Steve Clark’s best riffs and a hymn to getting hammered because there’s nothing better to do (which in this part of the world may well be the case, it's probably all these rolling hills and sheep). It’s a very weird song for Def Leppard and I suppose as good a reason as any to actually own this album. In contrast to a lot of the NWOBHM movements excitable, youthful vibrancy in, say, Diamond Head’s debut this is a NWOBHM anthem just a downtrodden one. It’s perhaps the most apt song the band’s early incarnation have ever written considering they lost both their guitarists to alcohol abuse (Pete Willis being fired for taking the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle a little too seriously and Steve Clark dying after years of excess). Opener ‘Rock Brigade’, too, proves its worth with a solidly stomping ode to, well, a rock brigade. That said, Joe Elliot doesn’t seems all too enthused by this song, and seems to have put more effort into his backing vocals than the lead. Point in case: “Oh no, it’s the rock brigade… ROCK BRIGADE! Oh no, it’s the rock brigade”. Could he be any more excited at the prospect of singing in a rock band? He makes Kevin Heybourne sound like Bruce Dickinson!

Overall, I’d say this is nothing truly of note considering the wealth of better NWOBHM or for that matter, just hard rock in the early 80s. Nothing truly of note here – barring one song – and certainly not a mandatory purchase for NWOBHM fans. I suppose if anything, it’s a tribute to how artistic integrity was never really Deaf Leopard’s forte.

Potential Spinal Tap album title: On Through the Shite ... See More