Year : 2022
Style : Power Metal , Heavy Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 120 mb
Bio:
Judicator is a US Power Metal band formed by Tony Cordisco and John Yelland in 2012 after the two met at a Blind Guardian concert. Sharing a love of Blind Guardian and old school power metal, the two recorded a quick cover of Helloween’s classic song ‘Ride the Sky’ for fun one day, and quickly realized doing a full on album of original material in that vein would be a great homage to their heroes and fun for any of their friends to listen to. The debut album “King of Rome” was then crafted over the course of a few weeks in 2012, utilizing home recording and drum machines, as Judicator did not have any plans to be a ‘real band’ as it were, and simply just wanted to put the album up on bandcamp for whoever might find it enjoyable to listen to. Subsequently, the album was released on October 30th, 2012, showcasing Tony and John’s shared love of old school power metal and Blind Guardian vocal stylings. The album’s concept followed the final days of Napoleon Bonaparte’s last campaign, leading up to his eventual defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.After a number of affirming underground reviews and unexpected, humbling fan and friend reactions, John and Tony decided the band would be more than just a one album ‘fire and forget’ recording project set on paying homage to their favorite bands, and quickly began working on the follow up “Sleepy Plessow” — this time focusing on developing more of their own heavy/power metal sound and incorporating a wider range of their influences, and also putting a little more into the production side of things without going outside the means of what they had available to them. The album was released less than 7 months later in June of 2013. The sophomore effort showed a departure from the speed and riff obsessed nature of ‘King of Rome” and focused more heavily on atmosphere, melody, slower tempos, more complex vocal arrangements, and bigger overall narrative concept. The album also brought in numerous guest vocalist from friends and underground bands alike in order to portray the various characters and soundscapes needed for the album. The story of Frederick the Great of Prussia showed the band progressing into a more mature and developed territory as a band, but Judicator still remained a homemade recording project with only Tony and John at the helm.Feeling that ‘Sleepy Plessow’ had demonstrated the improvement they wanted over the first album, and feeling encouraged by the exponential increase of listener and reviewer engagement, John and Tony decided it was time to begin work on a third, and change the nature of the band to reflect a more a traditional setup and help progress the band’s material to a more professional level. The band added drummer Jordan Elcess in late 2013–whom Tony had worked with previously in Sedulity, Vermiform, Grimaced, and other bands–and began work on the third album ‘At the Expense of Humanity’. This album took the band to new heights and finally saw Judicator transition from a homemade recording project into an actual band–leaving behind the days of home laptop recording, and quickly released albums. The band played their first two live appearances at the Deland Rock and Metal Festival in Fall 2014 leading up to the release of ‘At the Expense of Humanity’ in March of 2015. The album showed an even further expansion of the band’s sound, both musically and production wise. The album pushed the band in a more progressive and personal direction, as the concept revolved around John’s retelling of the story of how he lost his brother to cancer when he was 18 years old. The album’s tragic and personal concept was illustrated by a more diverse and progressive approach to power metal. The band was able to partner with Dirty Viking Audio (Shadowdance, Noble Beast, Helion Prime, etc) and Tower Studios (Ayreon, Noble Beast, etc) to have their first truly professionally produced album, and with the help of fan support, was able to crowd fund the production for the album. Additionally, ‘At the Expense of Humanity’ saw the band partner with Divebomb Records, which Tony had previously worked with in Project: Roenwolfe, for a widespread release of the album and beyond. The album was met with enthusiastic underground/online critical praise, noting the professional and mature change of direction for the band, and that Judicator had finally come into their own. The band was able to also embark on their first small regional tours throughout the Southwest and West Coast of the United States in Spring 2015 and Summer 2016 in support of ‘At the Expense of Humanity’.Currently, the band is hard at work promoting the release of their fourth album, “The Last Emperor”. The album shows a full swing return to their germanic influenced power metal and features a re-recording of the title track of the debut album “King of Rome” with an accompanying music video.“The Last Emperor” is a historical power metal concept album covering several events and figures from the first Crusades and the People’s crusades, including Pope Urban II, Godfrey of Bouillon, Alexios I Komnenos, Raynald Porchet, and Bohemond I of Antioch. The album was recorded in 2017 and reamped, edited, and mixed by Carlos Alvarez of Dirty Viking Audio. The album was once again mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima of Tower Studio. Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian appears for additional lead and backing vocals on the song ‘Spiritual Treason’. David Brown of Chaos Frame returns once again for support with choir and backing vocals, as well as featuring on guest lead vocals on “Antioch”, playing the part of the martyred knight Raynald Porchet.
Album:
In the two years since their last full length outing, Let There Be Nothing, JUDICATOR have returned from collective and personal turmoil brought on by both the Covid-19 pandemic and foundational lineup changes. The US power metal group are now primed and proud to release their triumphant sixth studio album, The Majesty of Decay, via Prosthetic Records. Refreshed and revitalized, JUDICATOR are eager to let this beastly album out of the gate and into your stereos.Whilst the album’s story remains somewhat shrouded in mystery, JUDICATOR utilizes compelling plot devices as a means to encourage fans to piece together the album’s meta-contextual threads. What we do know, however, is that The Majesty of Decay explores the subjects of love, family, and the transformation of suffering into something meaningful. JUDICATOR invites you to step into this world and contemplate how the story might relate to you. The album is a carefully constructed puzzle of mirrors and metaphor that cries out for Judicator fans everywhere to solve it.What began as a humble homage to their favorite band quickly grew into something that hads fans begging for more, and JUDICATOR is happy to oblige. The band has produced a catalog of music that spans multiple sub-genres and breaks conceptual boundaries. With this latest offering, The Majesty of Decay, JUDICATOR have delivered yet another thought provoking album that fits nicely into their discography.
Line-Up:
John Yelland - Vocals (2012-present) - See also: Principium, ex-Dire Peril, ex-Disforia, ex-Shadowseer
John Dolan - Bass (2020-present) - See also: Trapmaker
Balmore - Guitars (lead) (2020-present) - See also: NovaReign, ex-Dire Peril (live), ex-Exmortus, ex-Warbringer (live)
Jordan Elcess - Bass (2014), Drums (2014-present) - See also: ex-Apophenia, ex-Atresia, ex-Grimaced, ex-Sedulity, ex-Vermiform, ex-Ethereal
Tracklist:
01. Euphoric Parasitism
02. The Majesty of Decay
03. From the Belly of the Whale
04. Daughter of Swords
05. Ursa Minor
06. Ursa Major
07. The High Priestess
08. The Black Elk
09. Judgment
10. Metamorphosis
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