Disc 2
1. Own The Crown (new song)
2. Metal On The Road(new song)
3. Snow Is On The Mountains (2011 version)
4. Freedom Warriors (2011 version)
5. Halloween (2011 version)
6. Geh Den Weg(remastered)
7. Make It, Not Break It (2006 Bonus Track)
8. Guardians Of The Dragongrail Orchestral (2006 Bonus Track)
9. Troopers Of Steel (LIVE)
First MAJESTY Demo:
10. Pray And Die
11. Into The Night
12. We Will Ride
13. Guidance To Death
Band:
Tarek „MS“ Maghary - vocals and orchestration
Tristan Visser - guitars
Alex Palmer - bass
Jan Raddatz - drums and percussion
Diskography:
Keep It True (2001)
Sword & Sorcery (2002)
Reign in Glory (2003)
Metal Law (2004)
Hellforces (2006)
Info
New tracks produced by Majesty & Mastered by Achim Köhler
Released 2/9-2011
Reviewed 6/9-2011
Majesty is not to be confused with american progressive metallers Dream Theater who called themselves Majesty before they released their first album, no Dream Theater is not a German power/heavy metal band that was put on Ice after their Hellforces album, instead they released one album under the name of Metalforce before resurrecting Majesty. And now we see the result of this, one massive compilation on two discs each spanning more than one hour. It is not however just an ordinary best of, the first disc is but the second contains two completely new tracks and a few more new recordings and if that was not enough they have also included their entire first demo as an extra added bonus.
True Heavy Metal, that is how they are described stylistically. Strange as I have never heard of false heavy metal, but then again I have never really been interested either. I read up on who calls themselves true heavy metal on wikipedia the very reliable source though, and they said that it was bands that kept to the traditional style of heavy/power metal and had lyrics on medieval- or fantasy theme so I guess we can certify that Majesty are true in that sense. I would call their songs arena rock anthems in metal format as their songs most are of that type, the one that seems written only for it to be sang along with on a big stadium in the outskirts of Stuttgart or some other small town in Belgium (so you thought Stuttgart was a German city, so did I until the map fell into some imaginary lake and some pages were merged). The production on all songs but the demo ones are immaculate and the sound is clean and modern, the demo tracks are the opposite more or less. The one who buys this album will find him-/herself with 27 tracks of music to play and as stated a hell of a lot of minutes to play as well.
I would say that this is music that is easy to take in and quite easy to like as well with its sing-along type choruses and simplistic song structures. The only downside that I can really see is that the clichés will become a source of annoyance if you really listen to this album. That is not a problem however, if I am reading a book or having it as background for something else, it also works well when I am thundering along in a 100 mph with my car. The arena rock like anthems suit this band really well and a collection of those also works really well as there are some additions to add a little variation as well even though it will tend to become a bit long when listening actively. I would also add that it is probably one of the hardest albums to review thanks to it being so long, I guess it would have been great to have someone familiar with Majesty since earlier who only needed to listen to the second disc but that is not the case, I had never heard Majesty prior to this release. Majestic and catchy I would say and good, if you discount the demo tracks which sound like crap.
I would like to hold out a few tracks that I like a little more than the other Sons of a New Millenium and Into the Stadiums from the first disc, Own the Crown, Snow on the Mountains and Guardians of the Dragongrail the orchestral version on the second disc, these tracks are really good, and they add a little to a good collection of songs.
If you are fan of Majesty, Manowar or a fan of power-/heavy metal then you will like this, you will also like it if you enjoy knights in shining armour, or catchy metal songs. I think this will go down with most people, sure the clichés are a bit much but the songs are really good. So a fucking long album but a hell of a good buy!
HHHHHHH
