Nostradameus - The Third Prophecy
AFM Records
True (Melodic) Metal
11 songs (55'01)
Release year: 2003
Nostradameus, AFM Records
Reviewed by Marty
This new release is the third album from this Swedish band and is aptly titled The Third Prophecy. It was mixed by Fredrik Nordstrom (Dream Evil, In Flames) who manages to put his magic touch to the killer sound of this album. Playing a True Metal style with tons of galloping and speedy riffs, this band also adds lots of power and melody to their songs. Similarities can be drawn to bands like Hammerfall and Lost Horizon as far as the style of metal these guys play. The guitar sound has that big fat 80's sustaining sound that was a staple of such bands like Accept and Scorpions.

This band has a strong following, but this album is my first real exposure to them. From what I've heard of their two previous albums, this new one sees the band moving in a heavier direction. I really like the sound of the band and they definitely fall into the True Metal category however, they employ some Melodic Speed Metal elements to their sound as well. Great killer riffs, galloping beats and heavy, fast charging rhythms dominate almost every song on this album. Revenge Is Mine shows the band experimenting with a more technical riffing style and is one of the album highlights.

I listened to this album very closely a number of times and no matter how hard I tried, I just can't get into the vocals of Freddy Persson. He has a good vocal range and really reminds me of Lost Horizon's Ethereal Magnanimus but I just don't care for his vocal style. It's too bad because most songs are driven by great riffs, lots of powerful changes and a great sound. The lack of killer vocals weakens the impact that this band would've had on me. Normally, I love this sort of metal, Hammerfall, Dream Evil, Lost Horizon, Primal Fear type of stuff with lots of influences from bands like Accept (one of my favs) as well as Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian. The average vocal style and chorus structure to their songs will result in nothing more than a passing interest by this metal fan and this CD will likely be filed away and rarely listened to again. In comparison to the aforementioned bands, they just don't quite make the grade. Producer Fredrik Nordstrom has done an amazing job of bringing out a killer sound from this band, but unfortunately with vocals and songwriting, there's only so much a producer can do. Included as a bonus is a live version of One For All And All For One from their first album, Words Of Nostradameus. What a colossal waste of time this is. It sounds like it was recorded with a hand-held tape recorder and is marginally above bootleg quality.

Some may actually like the vocals of this band, but myself, I've heard much better. Musically, this band has all the right elements to be a killer metal band, however, lots of great riffing, melodic solos etc. are really disguising the fact that there aren't that many really great songs on this album. A little more concentration on songwriting and vocal styles would go a long way in pushing this band up into the big leagues of the True / Power Metal genre. Some people really like this band a lot and there's lots to like, it's just that like I've said before, bands like Dream Evil, Lost Horizon, Kamelot, Masterplan etc. have raised the bar as to what we should expect from a really great metal band. This band just isn't quite there yet.

Killing Songs :
Revenge Is Mine and In Harmony
Marty quoted 72 / 100
Chris quoted 86 / 100
Other albums by Nostradameus that we have reviewed:
Nostradameus - Pathway reviewed by Mike and quoted 65 / 100
Nostradameus - Hellbound reviewed by Marty and quoted 80 / 100
Nostradameus - The Prophet Of Evil reviewed by Chris and quoted 80 / 100
Nostradameus - Words Of Nostradameus reviewed by Chris and quoted 87 / 100
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