Here’s the deal. As I write to you, I’m fucking stressed. Aside from some of the normal holiday season bullshit, I’m also currently facing a reality where, due to a whole goddamn mess of circumstances, there’s a very strong chance I’m going to be working out of my car every other week for the foreseeable future. In the winter. In what’s basically Canada.

It’s a long story.

Look, as far as problems go, I know I could have it a whole lot worse. I know that. Regardless, the stress I feel is real, and I need a goddamn pick-me-up.

Holy fuck did I get one.

Earlier in the year, in my review of Unleash The Archer’s “Abyss,” I quipped that if I found an album I enjoyed listening to more than that this year, I would “absolutely shit myself. I will shill everywhere.” Folks, I’m clenching. I’m clenching HARD. There’s a turtle head popping out and it’s threatening to break through entirely, because these Swiss bringers of all things mighty and metal have come in and dropped an album worthy of the gods. Strap on your helmet, man the catapults, and get yourself acquainted with Megaton Sword. You want this. You need this.

 

This is just a goddamn joy of an album – filled with an absolute smorgasbord of bright, punchy riffs and epic melodies you owe to yourself to indulge in. It takes no time at all for this thing to seep into your veins like a battle-hunger-inducing drug, as the album’s opening, title track lures you in with a quiet, mysterious opening before hitting you in the chops with burst of guitar and drums and barreling into an almost blackened riff that has me windmilling in my chair. I’m sure I look like an idiot. I’m sure I don’t care. But the track REALLY puts the hammer down about halfway through. After another helping of the song’s booming refrain, followed by a wicked solo, the band breaks things down with a sweet dose of war drums that build up to a monstrous bridge that sees singer “Uzzie Unchained” calling out to his fellow warriors and whipping them into a pre-battle frenzy. Is so fucking epic and it’s so fucking good.

It sets the tone for an album that rarely lets it’s foot off the pedal. Whether it’s “The Giver’s Embrace” and its more plodding, headbanging rumble – or the speedier “Songs of Victory,” the band is ready to indulge all of your innermost Heavy Metal needs and desires, all delivered with the kind of gusto that elevate the record from being merely good, to truly great. It’s an unavoidable, relentless kind of energy that’s capable of both putting a smile on your face and sending you into a kind of bloodthirsy berserker state. And it’s outrageously catchy! Take the simple, effective riffs and “woah-oh!”-filled chorus of “Westrels” for example, as they weasel their way into your conscience and refuse to let go. Ive only spent a couple days with this thing and I already feel like I’ve got most of it committed to memory (I guess it helps that it’s been on constant repeat).

I can’t even point to one or two album highlight because, in truth, every song has its own individual highlight – and credit to the band for being that focused on ensuring the quality of the songs from start to finish. There’s the excellent, hammering-metal-accented bridge on “General Bloodlust,” the bouncy, fist-pumping refrain on “Verena,” there’s even the surprising Bolt Thrower-esque rumble of “In The Black of Night,” coupled with it’s excellent, sing-along chorus that all feed on specific, unique niches and provide a little bit of something for everyone. No filler, all killer.

I could probably go on for a whole lot longer praising this album and this band of quality musicians, but it’s just taking away more valuable time that can be spent just listening to and enjoying it. Go get this album in your life, and get ready for an upbeat, rollicking good time. Watch out, Eternal Champion – Megaton Sword is here, and they’re vying for the modern heavy metal throne. FIGHT ON!

[Visit the band's website]

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