by Martin Popoff
Pegazus - Breaking The Chains
(Nuclear Blast)A vague, not all that enjoyable '80s-ness seems to permeate this band's being, something reminiscent of midwest S(c)rapnel or Earthshaker Germany acts, y'know the ones grimacing as they hold a studded fist up to a fearful camera. And it infects causing defects, Pegazus playing it too clear and clean for such relaxed, unimpressive riffs and vocals. It's a retro-fest to be sure, maybe enjoyable if you like Dio derivatives, but more Warrior and White Skull than Angel Dust, just kind of snickery and somewhat betray-ful of the band's displacement on Australian shores. Not sure how fair that is, but there's a detectable lack of clue here.
Rating 6Legend Maker - The Path To Glory
(Sentinel Steel)Dennis Gulbey's Sentinel Steel Records has been at the forefront of churning out small print runs for American power metal bands, most of the required high quality, most with splendid graphics and booklets, the odd one, like South America's Legend Maker, not of these shores. Legend Maker began life as Mester De Juglaria (minstrel in Spanish), and have taken an American singer and a translation of the band's lyrics into English. The resulting album is perfection power metal with a refreshingly dirty guitar sound, a nice ear for retro and a total enslavement to projecting melodies (propped through keyboard washes), a la Helloween, Angra, Hammerfall or even Blind Guardian (caution on that one). It's a bit of a straddler though, having been built to 40 minutes from a four-song core sent to Sentinel Steel for consideration. But all is forgiven come Last Chapter's action-packed six minutes, which swirls with awesome cut-ups, arrangements, speeds and elegance, most of the ideas coming off as innovative within this rule-infested genre.
Rating 8
