01. Path To Freedom
02. Die Like Kings
03. Rebels Of Our Time
04. YOLO HM
05. The Final War
06. Across The Lightning
07. Fireheart
08. Iron Hill
09. Heroes In The Night
10. Running For Salvation
11. Fighting Till The End
I recently saw Majesty
play live in Wolverhampton supporting Battle
Beast (see review here), so based on their show, I decided to check out
their latest release, Rebels.
I did a little homework on Majesty after the show, and unsurprisingly they describe their
music as True Metal. In case that wasn't Metal enough, they briefly changed the
name of their band to Metal Force,
before changing it back to Majesty a
couple of years later. It was probably a wise idea in fairness. Now with ten
studio albums, and despite an even larger number of ex band members, Majesty appear to be on the rise, and are
becoming a major player in their genre.
When I saw them live, the first bands they instantly
reminded me of were Manowar and Virgin Steele, and as a fan of both of those
bands, I'm pleased to say that their recorded work here sounds very much like
them too. Not close enough as to be an imitation, but enough for Majesty to wear their influences on
their sleeves, yet maintain a sound that is clearly their own.
For me, I think that the thing that sets them apart is
that they're a little more fun. Their over the top love of True Metal (in other
words Traditional Heavy Metal with occasional bursts of Power Metal accompanied
by lyrical themes of fantasy, rebellion, and proclamations of a loyalty to Metal)
could be seen by some as naive and juvenile, but personally I love it. It's
pure escapism, and sometimes there's nothing better than turning the speakers
up to eleven and listening to songs like YOLO
HM. Yes, the HM does stand for
Heavy Metal. It also contains the lyrics:-
"We live as
Metal Outlaws and show them we're not dead, Let's proudly post on YouTube when
we bang our fucking Head" For real.
The album is great throughout, but personal favourites
include Rebels Of Our Time, which
has a 'Manowar - Warriors of the World'
vibe about it, Fireheart, which is
easily as good as anything Saxon
have done in the last ten years, and the more 80's tinged and synth-heavy Heroes In The Night.
Rebels is
great fun, and musically impressive. Majesty
clearly love their Metal and they do what they do very well indeed. Long
may they reign!
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