Blacksword’s debut came out back in 2010 and not a lot has been heard from the band until now. I was actually totally unaware of said personally, so if like me you are new to the band – who and what are Blacksword? They are a Russian Heavy/Power Metal band, but with more than a passing nod towards classic American Speed/Power Metal. There’s plenty of Jag Panzer about them, with some Twisted Tower Dire in their True Metal quarter and Iced Earth too on their more Power Metal moments. But equally there is enough reminiscent of bands like Leige Lord, Omen, Agent Steel and Helstar (to name a few examples) to make the whole shebang very interesting indeed.
Much of this may be down to the addition of Greek vocal powerhouse Mike Livas (Silent Winter) to the band, who brings a fantastic, theatrical delivery to the album which really elevates the already substantially weighty songs onto an even higher level. Mixing a tried and tested Harry Conklin type mid-range with a spectacular Mike Rivera/John Cyriis higher register, he brings an unpredictable, dynamic quality to each song. You could argue that the powerful, riff and rhythm driven music demands this approach, yet so often bands like this fall at the final vocal hurdle – but not so with Blacksword.
Livas was a late addition to the line-up, so the band had plenty of time to work on the songs and the instrumentation while they searched for what is clearly the Heavy icing on the Metal cake. There’s loads of intricate guitar lines shining through the multitude of great riffs throughout the album and whether it’s the Maiden-esque ‘Long Lost Days’, the Vicious Rumors choppiness of ‘Darkest Days’ or the anthemic Battle Metal leanings of a Virgin Steele (‘The last Viking’ for instance), every track has a linking identity to its predecessor – a continuity, yet with an unpredictability that make this such an intriguing multi-layered album that demands further listens as well as hitting home immediately. It might have taken 11 years for a new album, but it appears it was certainly worth the wait.
(8/10 Andy Barker)
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