*shrug* The guy wanted stuff that resembles Dragonforce, so that's what I provided.

Oh yeah, I wasn't trying to bash them as recommendations, just saying that I get why someone like ZDan wouldn't like them. I didn't mean to suggest they were bad recs for what was asked for, sorry if my phrasing seemed to imply that.

That Time Machine song was really good, other than the wonky sounding keys.

Just noticed that Eternal Champion released a single based on Book of the New Sun. Damn I need to hear that...and get the t-shirt with Terminus Est on it. Only XLs available :*((((

Did anyone listen to the new Cirith Ungol song before it was taken down?

I second that question. I would love to know how this one sounded as Cirith Ungol is among my favourite bands.

?

You mean the one on Bandcamp? That song was great!

Nope - a completely new one titled "Legions Arise" - there was a video for a short moment before it was taken down.

I went on YouTube and the video for Legions Arise said it will be made public in 17 hours. New album titled Forever Black out April 24th.

I will keep my fingers crossed because I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cirith Ungol. Each of their albums is great in my opinion.

The reactions from the few people that heard it on /r/metal were extremely positive so I have high hopes.

The new song is up and my jaw is on the floor. Sounds like a track lifted from the band's glory days. The production, the vocals, everything just fits!

New song is orgasmic. ORGASMIC.

If they make a whole album of this quality then we will have one of the best records of 2020.

Holy SHIT. 2020 is looking to be one of the best years for metal in a long time. 3 new albums from 3 of my top favorite bands? Fuck yes!! Song is absolutely amazing.

Don't forget Virgin Steele's ''70% done, but should be released this year'' record.

which bands?

In addition to Cirith Ungol, there's Psychotic Waltz, whose album is already out and seems to be quite good (I've heard it once so far), and Demons & Wizards (who I realize aren't popular here but I'm still a big fan of).

There is also the new Ironsword which is AMAZING and sometimes a piece of Manilla Road-worship in a good sense.

The vocals always prevented me from getting into Ironsword. Gruff, monotone, very little range, and to my ears, no charisma. The riffs seem very cool and Manilla-Road inspired but the vocals ruin the band for me.

Agree that their vocals aren't too good, I find the delivery kind of silly like if Dethklok played trad metal. But somehow for me the music around is so damn good that they don't bother me so much. Been playing Overlords of Chaos a bunch at the gym lately, just non stop heavy ass-stomping epic as hell riffage. So much passion and atmosphere.

(oops double post)

I love D&W myself, but the new songs have been pretty bad.

The second and third songs they put out have been kinda meh, but I really enjoyed Diabolic, so I'm hoping most of the other songs lean in that direction. Probably going to be a mixed bag, though.

I think he's incredible and sounds more ferocious than ever on this one. He showed a lot of range on Overlords of Chaos too, for his standards anyway.

Psychotic Waltz, I am just obsessed with. Easily stands up with anything else they did and probably more involved/complex than their final two from the 90s, even. I think the people criticizing it need to give it more time.

New Psychotic Waltz is heroin, I can't fucking stop listening to it and it's amazeballs.

Only thing that clears my palate is the new Cirith Ungol and Shoot to Kill by Wolf.

I kinda liked Diabolic from D&W, which is a band I only like a couple of songs (but really like them) but holy shit, those videos are cringefests.

It's driving me nuts. There are nice melodies and soundscapes, but literally every song is 70 bpm. I'm going out of my mind waiting for something more uptempo.

I don't think an uptempo rocker would have fit this album very well. The more I listen to it, the more it makes sense exactly the way it is and every song reveals intricacies.

What do you guys think of Archon Angel? It's not Savatage, but I think it's a decent enough substitute. It's not very proggy at all, but I appreciate the simpleness and effectiveness of the songs, and Zak sounds great!

He sounds so good on those songs, but I wish the music was even a little bit interesting to me. It just sounds real vanilla.

New Traveler song. Whats everyone think.

https://youtu.be/S9LFcBE6WrE

Pretty straightforward but i dig it a lot.

Simple, to the point, effective. The vocals of JP are great as always.

Been giving the new PW and D&W some more listens, the Psychotic Waltz album definitely seems fantastic, better each time I hear it, probably my 2nd favorite in their discography, 90+ level stuff. Some of it is pretty dense, of course, given that it's Psychotic Waltz, so I'm still digesting it, but I've had a very good experience with it thus far. "Demystified" has probably been mystifying me (ok, ok, I couldn't resist) the most, but it's a pretty consistent album overall, no real "bad" tracks.

Demons & Wizards on the other hand....ehhhh. They've gone more into a less metal, more 70s rock direction with a lot of the songs, and I'm not really much of a fan of that stuff. There are still some cool tracks, besides Diabolic there's "Dark Side of Her Majesty" which is really cool, over-the-top pomp kind of reminiscent of ANATO-era Blind Guardian to me (I know many don't like that either but hey). Then there's "Universal Truth," which is really moody and mysterious, not the heaviest track but it's got a cool vibe to it. And finally "Split," which is my favorite song on the album, basically "My Last Sunrise" part 2 but even better. Definitely shows they've still got it, which is frustrating since they display "it" so infrequently, but I guess they're just going in a different direction which I'm not interested. So it's probably my least favorite album of theirs but it does have some cool standout tracks.

Any more thoughts on either album from anyone? Any other upcoming albums you guys are interested in? (Obviously I know about Cirith Ungol). Just kind of in the mood to see what other new stuff is coming out there with all the stuff this year already.

I've been regularly spinning the new Psychotic album and I love it although I wouldn't place it above the first two, which have god-like status in my book. I don't think I can put it above Bleeding either, perhaps Mosquito, which I don't love from start to finish.

Thing is I like Devon Graves a lot but I WORSHIP Buddy Lackey if you know what I mean. The last PW in a hyperbole could be described as Dead Soul Tribe but with Psychotic Waltz as the backing band (which automatically raises the quality to a different level) and there are moments of that PW psychedelia throughout, just a hint of the Rock/McAlpine dual leads is enough to give me goosebumps but the reality is that a huge part of what made Psychotic Waltz extra special was Buddy Lackey's style and performance. He did start to become tamer on Mosquito and Bleeding compared to the first two but still had lots of nuances in his performance, hyperbolic stressing of words and weird tails and such, which are almost entirely missing from the new album, just like they were missing from DST and Shadow Theory.

A friend of mine who worships the ground PW walked on was really disappointed with Graves' performance, to the point of exclaiming "that's not PW!". I disagree of course but I get where he is coming from.

Other than that though and a wish for more variety in the songwriting mood, I repeat, I love the album.

Demon & Wizards, I liked Diabolic (although hated the clip, holy shit the cringe) but not enough to make me rush to listen to the albun carefully. Well, I am in the process of going through a lot of the upcoming Up the Hammers bands to get myself going, so I guess next week sometime I will be listening to it. Have to say that Hansi sounds great though. Been enjoying Riot City a lot, Smoulder as well in that context.

Upcoming albums? Wolf - Feeding the Machine (giant fanboy here, cautiously optimistic about it), King Diamond - The Institute (THE KD fanboy here - but I am not expecting greatness, hope he proves me wrong), Doomocracy's new album (pretty sure it will rule) and finally Helloween's new album after the reunion, which could be anything, from absolutely cringe-terrible fan appeasement to something actually really good to something boringly decent (like the Pumpkins United song). The classic era Helloween (as well as early Gamma Ray) is some of my favorite stuff ever, character-defining shit, so I can't help but wait for that...

I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the new Demons & Wizards album I liked. It'll never crack my Top 10 of the year--it's not THAT good--but once I adjusted to the fact that it was all gonna be moodier and more ponderous, there were quite a few tracks I enjoyed.

Bleeding definitely comes close for me, and Into the Everflow isn't too far (that album's never clicked with me quite as much as it has for many, though I still enjoy it quite a bit). Mosquito is, of course...well, Mosquito. Not a bad album by any means but not up to par for PW. I guess I understand what you mean about "Buddy Lackey" vs. Devon Graves as far as the amount of weirdness in his voice, but ultimately it's not that huge a factor for me. A Social Grace is, of course, untouchable.

Didn't realize KD had a new album coming, and while I've never been his biggest fan, I'll be interested to check it out for sure. Wolf is cool but their albums do tend to feel quite samey to me so I'm not sure how pumped I'd be for a new one unless it breaks that mold. It has been a while since they've put out an album, though, so I'm sure I'll check it out for curiosity's sake at least. Helloween...just not into them. Doomocracy isn't really on my radar although I have heard the name. Maybe I ought to check them out. Their page mentions Lovecraftian lyrical themes so that's definitely a plus!

I don't know how I'd rank the Psychotic Waltz discography because they were remarkably good and consistent throughout. The debut is probably the best one, but I wouldn't have wanted them to keep doing that style at the expense of the others, which all permutated in such interesting ways and saw them really writing all kinds of great songs in the more stripped down, rockish style that is also very good. I think Mosquito and Bleeding are both killer despite a few slightly weaker tracks on each - but nothing that derails the overall quality. I've been playing The God Shaped Void for weeks now and don't think there are any weaker tracks on there so far.

Graves' voice is deeper on the new stuff, but that's just age. He's marvelous at what he does. Hooks for days and a genuine soulfulness. I'm hooked on every note.

I think there's a tendency among fans of technical prog stuff to downplay the stuff past the debut. I dunno about that. My taste has always had room for simpler, more mellow climes, and I've enjoyed everything from them thus far with no qualifiers or standards being lowered. The thing with PW is that they were good writers first and tech/prog wizards second. That's why they remained good later - and the debut's strength is in the emotion that comes through, rather than it just being a riff-bonanza.

The new Wolf should be good. Helloween hasn't been all that great in a decade but hopefully they'll get the fire back - that live album is seriously amazing.

For me it's Into the Everflow first (Little People being my favorite Psychotic Waltz song, followed by the openers Ashes/Out of Mind) and I just think they peaked on that one. Not a great production but better than the debut (which is my second favorite obviously), tons of psychedelia and weirdness and uniqueness, the best Buddy Lackey, the best Rock/McAlpin leads (Into the Everflow, the song, oh the trips!...), it's just one of my favorite albums ever. They changed quite drastically after that but they always had the psychedelic weirdness and atmosphere, which one might argue is really toned down in the new one. I am still contemplating my friend's opinion and he was saying it was "too accessible and safe" for PW and while I love the album I can't help but conceding perhaps that point, although for 2020 and a comeback it's way more than anyone could have asked for.

Anyway, I am a sucker for vocalists with hyperbolic, theatrical performances, I think I've mentioned that before, (King, Midnight, early Dane, Rytkonen, Oliva, John Stewart, David Bower and so on),so I do miss the crazy Buddy but apparently Devon doesn't, at all.

Doomocracy: Excellent band from my home town, think Solitude Aeturnus meets Memento Mori with US stuff all around with their strongest suit being SONGS and the vocals. Guardian Within is my fave song by them, check it out. Great sound too (mixed at Morrisound).

I've already posted a fanboy's rant at the new Wolf album thread so I'll refrain from engaging in a tirade of how they have plenty of differences between albums, esp. since Evil Star but I will repeat that I firmly believe that they are the best heavy metal band of the past 20 years. I have thought about it and yes, I put them above Slough Feg or Grand Magus or whoever else. Easily. I am eager to see if they can keep up the quality, their last one was magnificent.
For the benefit of the curious, some gems, tip of the iceberg: Killing Floor (2014), Tales from the Crypt (2011), Curse You Salem (2009), The Bite (2006), American Storm (2004), Genocide (2002), Moonlight (1999)

thanks for these, I've been looking for inroads to both Doomocracy and Wolf, and so I eagerly clicked on those links, but... I'm gonna break your heart :/ I don't like them. Doomocracy's vocals sound weedy and the music is this typical epic greek metal that gets bothersome after the first few records (sorry). Curse you Salem is the only song I liked when a friend gave me that Wolf album 10 years ago, and I still like it to this day, but none of the other songs (so sorry)... bit too derivative for me. he does have a great voice though. oh, and their album covers are total a**e, and they get worse as the years go by. I'm not gonna comment on your claim of them being "the best heavy metal band of the past 20 years" as it's early and I just had a mille feuille and I'm happy I'm gonna spin some Evangelist now, the real "best heavy metal band of the past 20 years"

CHILDREN OF THE BLACK FLAME (last chance to save your taste! )

Nah, seriously, that's OK man! At least you tried, although for the life of me I don't understand how someone can just be indifferent to the Bite or Killing Floor. To me, that's pure, distilled perfection of heavy metal. Eh, anyway, here's a second sample of Doomocracy because I think your description as typical epic greek metal kinda baffles me, they sound totally power/doom ala Solitude: Faceless. Also, for the record, what does weedy mean? Never came across that word as a description for vocals.

However, your nomination for best heavy metal of the past 20 years needs more albums, have they been around for even ten years? I will also look into them, I thought they were a doom metal band so I kept postponing... Let's see. Deus Vult, 2018. Interesting, kinda weird vocals, not sure about them, almost cartoonish but not a problem. Certainly doom metal. And uh, the comments are about if they are white supremacists and their subject matter is racist against islam and dear Lord, now I have to search about the Deus Vult meme and educate myself. (uh, second song on the album is quite awkward... vocals are definitely the most prominent element of the band though, kinda digging the weird accent).