Paragon - Forgotten Prophecies
Remedy Records
Power/Speed Metal
11 songs (51'39)
Release year: 2007
Paragon, Remedy
Reviewed by Crims

Germany’s Paragon have been around since the early 90’s and most people are at least somewhat familiar with their recent material released this decade. Paragon perhaps achieved their greatest notoriety after Iron Savior’s Piet Sielck produced their 2001 release Steelbound. Due to Sielck’s involvement Paragon have always maintained a passing similarity to Iron Savior which is certainly there but Paragon have never been an exact copy of Iron Savior and this release is no different and in fact further cements their own sound.

Paragon’s music is fairly simple: the guitars are the main driving force of the music as the riffs are definitely the most important part of the songs. Paragon take their influence from Judas Priest (as every Speed Metal band does) and has tended to balance a thin line between the American style of the 80’s and the more Power Metal oriented European side of Speed Metal. In the past the Speed Metal influence have been more pronounced than Iron Savior as Iron Savior has always had a more grandiose and Power Metal styled epic approach to their choruses and occasional song structure. Paragon further separates themselves from that side of German Metal, in general, by staying more firmly in an 80’s US Power/Speed Metal style. What this means is more stripped down choruses, which while still melodic are more to the point and straightforward than many of their European counterparts in the Power Metal field. This aspect to Paragon’s music has always been present but is even more pronounced on this release and this goes hand in hand with a less thick and polished production job in favor of something more classic and dirty.

The riffs are borderline Thrash Metal at parts and the tempos remain fast with no true mid-paced rocker present on the CD (Souleaters is the closet they come to mid-paced). The song Agony is the one instance where we experience quiet and progressive build up to a faster song, and is a welcome addition to add variety to the CD (the opening is actually similar in atmosphere to Iced Earth’s Dante’s Inferno). The guitar solos are adequate and add a touch of character when used but the neck snapping riffs are the highlight and attraction here. Vocalist Andreas Babuschkin has a similar delivery as Sielck but has a different range and tone to his voice. This allows for some well-paced and phrased vocals, with catchy chorus melodies and the uniqueness of his voice helps the band sound distinct. Along with Iron Savior many choruses and verses reminded me of Manowar (that is when Manowar is playing fast raging Metal… which is not too often these days). On a side note the band has included an awesome cover of Overkill’s Deny The Cross which fits in really well with the riff style found throughout the rest of the CD which further proves the Thrash sensibility to many riffs and tempos.

What I like most about Paragon is their consistency. Over the course of their last few releases there has never been any filler and the CDs are full of fast, riff-oriented, Power/Speed Metal songs. Though the band doesn’t tread into the legendary category nor the overly outstanding category too often you can rest assured two to three songs per CD are going to stand out as absolute killers. Though I don’t return to a full Paragon CD very often many of their songs are on a regular play list because they are the ideal band to listen to when I just want no-frills, neck-moving, catchy Power/Speed Metal and with that being said the band has delivered yet again. No filler, a few outstanding songs, and a lot of consistent song writing, that is what Paragon is all about and therefore this is not really any better or worse than their last release. I liked that the band has taken on a more 80’s US approach to their Speed Metal influences as we don’t have a lot of this right now (make no mistake there is still plenty of the classic German Speed Metal sound in their music still) and it has moved the band's sound further away from their Iron Savior tendencies in both riff structure and production sound. Recommended to Paragon fans and anybody who wants to listen to unpretentious, to the point, well executed Power/Speed Metal.

Killing Songs :
Hammer Of The Gods, Face Of Death, Halls Of Doom, Agony, Wargods, Deny The Cross
Crims quoted 85 / 100
Other albums by Paragon that we have reviewed:
Paragon - Force of Destruction reviewed by Cory and quoted 91 / 100
Paragon - Revenge reviewed by Mike and quoted 88 / 100
Paragon - The Dark Legacy reviewed by Marty and quoted 86 / 100
Paragon - Law of the Blade reviewed by Mike and quoted 88 / 100
Paragon - Steelbound reviewed by Danny and quoted 82 / 100
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