Human Fortress
Defenders of the Crown

Knights in Shining Armour, defenders of crowns, gladiators and everything – just about all the power metal clichés are present and accounted for when we are listening to and looking at this album by Human Fortress. It is their second album that is being rereleased with two freshly recorded tracks featuring the vocalist Jioti who are said to have quit his music due to vocal related reasons. They have another vocalist these days and released an album earlier this year, one that we have not had the fortunes to hear. But lets return to this album, one that I have owned since it was released back in 2003.

The great thing about Human Fortress is that they sound unlike any other power metal album, they build on the same stylistic elements but create their own sound – or rather they did back then on their debut in 2001 and this album. The 2008 effort is more standard power metal and I don’t really know how the latest two of their five albums sound, as I haven’t heard them. This album built on the rather atypical song structuring that the band introduced with their debut Lord of Earth and Heavens Heir and album that I still regard as having one of the absolute best title tracks I have ever heard. The choruses are a bit longer, the songs are slightly differently structured and the vocalist has a voice that may not be very good but it works really well for this album. The production is also excellent and the album is epic and deals with knights in shining armour without being ridiculous. Quite a unique power metal album as far as I know, and I have heard quite a few albums in that genre.

It is a great album, one of the absolute best of the era – especially if you only consider the power metal genre. I don’t think that this album has any weaknesses, although one might argue that they should have waited for some anniversary before releasing this it anew – but it is so great that it doesn’t really matter. But what about all of us who already own the album? Well, the two bonus tracks makes it worthwhile even for you, those are two great tracks and they fit seamlessly together with the rest of the album like they have always been there. Excellent album, that is really all I can say and I must tip my hat to the band because of how they make music about knights in shining armour and avoids making it silly.

All the tracks on this album are really good, excellent in fact. But if I am to pick out a favourite it would have to be the title track that is a representation of all that is good about this band. I also have to mention the memorable track Human Fortress that is one of the two bonus tracks that has been added to this rerelease of this album. So if you missed this album the first time around, you have another chance now and you who didn’t miss this album at the time will have some excellent bonus to give you an even better version of it. This is most certainly an album that is too good to miss.

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