Megaton Sword (SWT)

[Horex]

Megaton Sword - Blood Hails Steel - Steel Hails Fire (2020)













Year : 2020
Style : Epic Heavy Metal
Country : Switzerland
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 115 mb

Bio:

Epic Heavy Metal band from Winterthur, Switzerland.MEGATON SWORD is one of the numerous bands that became active through the new rebooting of Epic Metal that is taking place the last years. As a matter of fact, I had the pleasure of reviewing their first EP a release showed potential for something fat greater in the future and earned MEGATON SWORD recognition among other bands (SELLSWORD, DON’T DROP THE SWORD, BY FIRE AND SWORD etc).“Blood Hails Steel – Steel Hails Fire” is the band’s first full length album, an ambitious project and a story of high fantasy (as I can understand since there is no reference in the promo whether the album is a concept or not, though both the amazing artwork and the song titles, imply this) with references to the early days of classic and epic metal.

Album:

Is that a Megaton Sword in your armor or are you just happy to see me? In trvth it is I who is happy to see Megaton Sword riding the tide of righteous battle on their debut full-length ode to all things edged and deadly. This Swiss cutthroat crew is carved from the same olde school stone as acts like Visigoth, Eternal Champion, and ageless legends like Cirith Ungol, and they deliver heroic tales of bravery and medieval butchery on the excellently titled Blood Hails Steel – Steel Hails Fire. But a word of dire warning: this is trve metal for those who want their Manowar Helper™ marinated in the frigid waters of Bathory‘s Hammerheart opus. These mega-macho, Conan-centric tunes bear a raw, unrefined edge that will cause severe poser infection in unworthy hands. Yet it’s exactly this kind of music that builds muscles of iron and a steely resolve, both of which are essential to effectively wielding the Megaton Sword that is the birthright of the chosen few. The happy few. The blood-soaked few.I’ll say this much – the opening title track is one of the most chest-thumping, rabble-rousing war anthems this olde warrior has heard in years. It’s everything I want in this style and it’s in the running to be my Song o’ the Year on testosterone and back hair alone. The heavy, Bathory-esque riffs provide a powerhouse foundation for the piercing vocals of Uzzy Unchained. He’s the ultimate love or hate frontman, but I became an instant supporter as soon as he started bellowing battlefield commands and hurling death curses. His high-pitched wail sits somewhere between Cirith Ungol‘s immortal Tim Baker and Mats from Ereb Altor, and while his delivery may not be good technically, it’s great for this music. “Verene” is less rabid and bloodthirsty than the title track, but the spirit of classic metal courses through its armored husk as Cirith Ungol and Ironsword influences duel over a flaming pit of smoked siracha whiskey. The chorus is bigger than Zeus and it’ll send you truckin’ down the Manilla Road at breakneck speeds.There are some issues with consistency as the album defiles your feeble fortifications. Cuts like “In the Black of Night” and “Songs of Victory” have all the right ingredients to make you ruthlessly sack the local beer emporium, but the strangely subdued closer “The Giver’s Embrace” exchanges righteous rage for something like early Manowar mixed with Pentagram. It’s interesting but lacks some of the blunt force impact the best material delivers. Power ballad “Crimson River” is an odd duck too. Uzzy’s wheelhouse doesn’t include a ballad setting, and though he goes all in and then some, his voice is just too strange and “unique” for the pacing and things get pretty weird. At a tasty 41 minutes, it all goes down like mead after a long day testing the mettle, but there’s no denying the writing quality misses the mark at times.For better or worse, Uzzy Unchained is the main attraction and all the world is his sword show. There’s been some lively discussion at the AMG Staff Debatorium over the man’s abilities and whether he hurts or helps the material. Some find him abrasive and unpalatable, but those heretics are dead wrong and must be purged for the greater good of metaldom. Though highly unpolished, Uzzy provides the material a unique character and sound, and while he isn’t the next Eric Adams and can be shrill and pitchy, his voice sparks the flame in the heart of Steel. Chris the Axe and his…axe are the other crucial cogs that swing the Megaton Sword. He references the best elements of the early Viking era of Bathory and olden era acts like Cirith Ungol, churning out burly, beefy riffs that hail the metal legends high. This sounds like something from the 80s and it has that perfect throwback vibe that knocks the nostalgia out of your skull. This is a good thing.Blood Hails Steel is a good companion piece to the upcoming Eternal Champion platter, and it can be served proudly with any trve slab of metal chest puffery. It has flaws, but you can’t deny the sheer power and the glory when the band screw their courage to the sticking place. If you can’t handle Megaton Sword you need to grow stronger. Sword measuring is now complete. Go get yourself a nice piece of hail.

Line Up:

Uzzy Unchained - Vocals (2018-present)
Simon the Sorcerer - Bass (2018-present)
Chris the Axe - Guitars (2018-present)
Dan Thundersteel - Drums (2018-present) - See also: Forlet Sires, Woeful Silence, ex-Idle Forsaken

Tracklist:

01. Blood Hails Steel - Steel Hails Fire (06:30)
02. Verene (05:20)
03. In the Black of Night (05:20)
04. General Bloodlust (04:48)
05. Wastrels (03:40)
06. Crimson River (05:06)
07. Songs of Victory (04:09)
08. The Giver's Embrace (06:33)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Megaton Sword - Might & Power (2023)











Year : 2023
Style : Epic Heavy Metal
Country : Switzerland
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 91 mb

Bio:

Epic Heavy Metal band from Winterthur, Switzerland.MEGATON SWORD is one of the numerous bands that became active through the new rebooting of Epic Metal that is taking place the last years. As a matter of fact, I had the pleasure of reviewing their first EP a release showed potential for something fat greater in the future and earned MEGATON SWORD recognition among other bands (SELLSWORD, DON’T DROP THE SWORD, BY FIRE AND SWORD etc).“Blood Hails Steel – Steel Hails Fire” is the band’s first full length album, an ambitious project and a story of high fantasy (as I can understand since there is no reference in the promo whether the album is a concept or not, though both the amazing artwork and the song titles, imply this) with references to the early days of classic and epic metal.

Album:

The Swiss cheese is back and it is too heavy to carry, so puny my arms. Thankfully, the members of Megaton Sword are super capable of withstanding the weight of three years’ worth of anticipation for the release of their second record, and they’ve certainly arrived ready for battle. The latest album from the rising Swiss stars is certainly a testament to their dedicated commitment to only making good music, in the name of metal.Megaton Sword are a fairly young band, having formed in 2018 in Zürich, and they’ve maintained a constant lineup since, adding guitarist Seth Angel after the release of their 2020 debut album. That debut, Blood Hails Steel – Steel Hails Fire, ended up on a lot of Album of the Year lists in 2020, and rightfully so; Blood Hails Steel is one of the best albums in the contemporary canon of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal. It is one of the best examples of making an old sound fresh and breathing new life into epic heavy metal.Epic heavy metal sits at the crossroads between traditional heavy metal, doom metal, and the American power metal scene; while epic metal can be found across the globe (including Switzerland, as seen here), it is heavily defined by an American sound and approach that differentiates it from the more European styles of power metal and heavy metal. A little slower, dirtier, more aggressive and bombastically epic (hence the name), key bands like Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, or Omen not only helped differentiate the American sound from what would become the NWOBHM, they laid the blueprint for a new subgenre in itself, and their influence can be felt all over Might & Power.In virtually all technical levels, Might & Power is an improvement on the original debut album – the production is more fleshed out and sounds more expensive, singer Uzzy Unchained has refined his voice (and learned layering), plus there’s a clearer sense of purpose here. The songwriting itself (more on that later) is not quite the same as on the previous record, but it’s definitely at least as strong as on Blood Hails Steel. Take co-title track “Power”: opening with a quick drum fill before dropping to only a superbly toned crunchy guitar playing the main riff alone for around twenty seconds before the whole band kicks in. It’s short, it’s simple, but it’s effective in really drawing your ears to not only the strength of the riff but the way the band builds around it. Moments like this really showcase an evolution in how Megaton Sword think about the way song structures play out, and they were already demonstrating ability towards that on their debut.The other title track “Might” opens with a crescendo-ing chord under Uzzy singing “miiiiiight.. UGH!” followed by a fast attack of instruments. Later the band settles into one of the most fist-pumping grooves you’ll hear this year; seriously, this groove is gnarly and it’s set-pieced between faster sections, giving great dynamics to the song featuring some of Uzzy’s aforementioned improved stylistic range, in moments growling out notes or holding steady in a much more grounded tone than usual. On a sidenote, I am a strong proponent of the simple principle that your album doesn’t need a title track, but if it has one it better kick ass (lest you look stupid) – Megaton Sword have one-upped all of us by including two title tracks that are both great. Pure genius.The rest of the album is also just as good; “All Wicked Schemes Unite” has some nice acoustic guitar, “Iron Plains” features a brilliant solo followed by a double time assault, “Cowards Remain” includes a classic late 70’s style riff with some juicy bass tone and another good solo. I really enjoy the songs a lot, and the album finishes on a ballad with piano titled “Babe Eternal” (really). But I don’t quite love them as much as the tracks on the debut, and that brings me to my decidedly nit-picky and mostly personal criticism about Might & Power.The refinement is very well done, and the band have clearly leveled up in a lot of ways, but in a sense I feel they don’t show it off enough. I want to hear more of Uzzy’s idiosyncratically unique voice; the man sounds like a sorcerer trying to warn me about the future through his magical scrying orb. The vocal hooks don’t grab me quite as strong as on Blood Hails Steel, with more emphasis drawn to the instrumentals or layered vox, which is perfectly fine, but I want to hear more of that enamoring vocal tone, and I want to hear a few more solos or extraneously cool instrumental bits: Megaton Sword have a second guitarist this time round, make me feel it more. Alas, this is a super minor complaint that’s probably just me, so don’t even register it as a formal criticism, I just really like this band and loved their debut to death.Megaton Sword have achieved the incredibly difficult task of following up a genre-defining debut record in a way that finds purchase. It’s clear that the band are no one-trick pony; they’re demonstrably going to make a hopefully long and successful career out of this project. At the time of my writing, this is my most listened to album of 2023 so far, and for good reason – these guys kick ass and have fun doing so.

Line Up:

Uzzy Unchained - Vocals (2018-present)
Simon the Sorcerer - Bass (2018-present)
Chris the Axe - Guitars (2018-present)
Seth Angel - Guitars (2020-present) - See also: Forlet Sires, The Kushan Empire
Dan Thundersteel - Drums (2018-present) - See also: Forlet Sires, Woeful Silence, ex-Idle Forsaken

Tracklist:

01. The Raving Light of Day 05:06
02. Iron Plains 05:54
03. Power 04:30
04. Cowards Remain 04:16
05. Raikaszi 04:40
06. All Wicked Schemes Unite 05:01
07. Might 04:29
08. Babe Eternal 05:27




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/