Echoes Of War

We haven't reviewed this yet and I thought I'd do this CD single as sort of a "heads up" as to what is going on with Thy Majestie. It was announced several months ago that lead vocalist Dario Grillo had left the band and was replaced by former Doomsword vocalist Gabriele Grilli. They are currently in the studio recording the follow-up to their last album Hastings 1066 and it's said to be a concept album based on the life of Joan Of Arc. It was also announced recently that the band had parted ways with their label, Scarlet Records and I have a feeling that this CD single is sort of a "contractual obligation" final release for the label. Aside from containing the song Echoes Of War from Hastings 1066, it also contains 3 bonus tracks.

For those who are not that familiar with Thy Majestie, their music is very much like the Rhapsody "Hollywood" metal style with choirs, epic storylines and a speedy orchestrated sound. Besides Rhapsody, they are one of the better bands doing this style of metal (Fairyland being another) and the progression from album to album is impressive. Hastings 1066 was a fantastic album, easily their best one yet and with another album like that, they may even challenge Rhapsody for the "Hollywood" crown.

Echoes Of War is a bombastic epic that uses big riffs, speedy orchestrated sections, operatic segments and solid lead vocals that is classic "Hollywood". It was one of the better tracks from Hastings 1066. The Japanese version of Hastings 1066 also contained the Stryper cover, In God We Trust and it is also included on this E.P. It's a great, slightly chunkier version and Dario Grillo really nails Michael Sweet's voice. I was skeptical, but they really pulled this one off! The 2 other tracks, a short instrumental, Hywelbane and Facing The Beast both come from the Brazilian version of The Lasting Power. It's amazing to hear the difference in sound on this track versus the Hastings 1066 sessions....amazing improvement in production and overall sound.

This is a nice addition to your collection if you're a fan and want to get the bonus tracks. It doesn't seem to have gotten very much promotion and in a posting by the band on their website, they didn't even get promo copies of this for themselves. With the quality of their past releases, they should have no problem finding a new label. I hope the band keeps progressing and improving as they have from album to album and I expect a killer new epic later this year.