VISIGOTH - "CONQUEROR'S OATH" (2018)

VISIGOTH - "CONQUEROR'S OATH"
(Running time: 42:24 minutes; 8 songs)
("Metal Blade Records"; 2018; CD):

Hey guys, yes and finally: I am back home from my trip to the (by me massively be-loved) city of Amsterdam and currently I've found the time to do something up here again... and with this month already coming to a close we will see if my plans up here will work still out for this month... but anyhow, yes, being back at work again up here feels good and means that here and now the next dose of record-review(s) by me for you is coming right in through ya and so here we go finally one more time again: Here and now it will be all about the current and for all what I know all in all second full-length-album titled "CONQUEROR'S OATH" by/of the young and impressively strong going U.S. American Heavy Metal band VISIGOTH released pretty much more or less exactly one month ago via the almighty "METAL BLADE RECORDS" label. VISIGOTH were totally unknown to me before I got my hands on the "CONQUEROR'S OATH" and it was due to the great cover artwork and a big bunch of very good and positive record-reviews that I pre-ordered this album and thank and praise to the almighty gods that I did so. VISIGOTH hail from Salt Lake City, Utah/U.S.A. and what they give us is nothing else or less than absolutely phenomenal Epic Heavy Metal of the supreme(st) kind and with a born and bred american flavor to it all and if you now maybe need some references then let me tell you that if you can imagine a very, very self-conatined and delicious mixture out of MANOWAR and GRAND MAGUS then you're on the right way and if you add here and there some very few slightly (early) VIRGIN STEELE reminiscences in that power-driven-epicness of the songs and then maybe also add here and there some few (early) CANDLEMASS impressions in form of that here and there nicely ''doomy'' delivery of the songs to it all as well and then you're pretty much totally right and if you can imagine this all with joy and enthusiasm then let me tell you that VISIGOTH's "CONQUEROR'S OATH" will be sort of your new holy grail and this for good and also for sure. All this influences are melted together by VISIGOTH here on "CONQUEROR'S OATH" in a totally 'independently' and/or self-contained way so that I simply have to state that this fine'n'young band already is thru'n'thru one of a kind and possesses a very strong and huge own identity and character and this combined with an immense and impressive musical quality is something that conquered and still continues to conquer me massively. VISIGOTH deliver very fresh, damn exciting and highly anthemic/hymnal songs with a huge own character and that are delivered via fantastic multi-facetted and multi-layered songwriting full of stunning and big tension arcs with massive amounts of power and tremendous portions of highly rousing energy, a mercyless onwards pushing drive, filled with grapping song architectures, intense and exciting arrangements of the verses and truly larger than life refrains, a great to outstanding riff and rhythm work, a very soul- and playful compositorial approach to it all, a nicely varying pace work, yes, and all is studded with fresh and surprising twist'n'turns all along the road like for example the damn great hard rocking and heavy rolling THIN LIZZY inspired über-anthem "SALT CITY" so that you are definitely in for an amazing, rousing, exciting, and grapping ride. Absolutely fantastic and bright shining clear and clean and also damn powerful and highly charismatic sung lead vocals mark the songs massively and truly enrich and cultivate them in a massive and impressive way. Then the stunning, heavy and forceful and yet 'phenomenally' diverse and especially intense guitar work with its singing leads and stunning solos and that brilliant rhythm and riffing work is for sure adding tons of highest quality and of that very own and unique identity to the songs (and this for all the right reasons), that are massively and stunningly backed up by the furious forward charging rhythm section. Hell yeahr, this is real Heavy Metal at'n'of its damn much very, very best and so much I can tell already here and now you can be sure that you will find VISIGOTH's "CONQUEROR'S OATH" ranked up in my this year's best of list, definitely. It's hard to name you any personal favorites but if you would want me to do so I probably would go with the almighty hymn "STEEL AND SILVER", the stunning "WARRIOR QUEEN", the absolutely poser slaying slasher "HAMMERFORGED", the already above mentioned über-anthem "SALT CITY", the sawing battle hymn "BLADES IN THE NIGHT", and the massively by (Epic) Doom Metal interwoven "THE CONQUEROR'S OATH", yes, so maybe start your discovery of VISIGOTH's "CONQUEROR'S OATH" with this purest platinum gems but don't make the mistake to think that the not mentioned "OUTLIVE THEM ALL" and "TRAITOR'S GATE" would be only anyhow anyway only slightly bad or weak songs because hell no they are definitely not, point and fact. On top of it all we do also get brilliant and (at least to me) nicely multi-facetted battle-scarred lyrics, a gorgeous artwork, and a heavy and powerful and yet warm, earthy, and organic production sound on top of it all. Okay, I think I have said all what I had to say so far and so I will now leave you with my highest recommendations to anyone into real Heavy Metal, Epic Metal, Power Metal, and/or U.S. Metal respectively American Heavy Metal (so to say) and I would like to add VISIGOTH with and due to their almighty and fantastic larger than life masterpiece "CONQUEROR'S OATH" because of the highly intense battle scarred and gladiatorial atmosphere to my personal list of Cimmerian Metal or Conan Metal and when you should finally listen to it you will pretty sure know why. All praise and hail to VISIGOTH and here with "CONQUEROR'S OATH" we definitely already have one of the very best probably top ten albums of/for 2018, definitely; highly recommended and so finally get it as soon as possible and this best right now. And now: DEATH TO FALSE METAL!!!

(10 of 10 points)

https://de-de.facebook.com/visigothofficial/ (-the link to the facebook site of the band)

VISIGOTH - "STEEL AND SILVER" (2018, "CONQUEROR'S OATH")