TO DEATH AND BEYOND…

In Greece, there are only economic crises and Olympics? Not even close. There are also really good metalbands, one of them is Battleroar and released their third album TO DEATH AND BEYOND in 2008. An album that should not be missing in any well-stocked metal-collection.

An epic guitar sequence opens the first song “Wrathforge”. After two minutes it gathers pace and increases to a fat rocker. A riff storm chases the next and Marco Congoreggi’s powerful voice lends the piece a sublime atmosphere. Unusual but very strong opener.

With “Dragonhelm” it goes heavy. Battleroar get the battle-axes out and fire a board that just crashes. The guitars of Kostas Tzortzis and Manolis Karazeris glow and Nick Papadopoulos hits his drum kit as if there was no tomorrow.

A violin solo introduces the next epic “Finis mundi”. Nine minutes full of joy, fat riffs and melancholic violin parts. Marco fits his voice wonderfully to the given arrangements and finds the right sound for every passage.

“Metal from Hellas” and “Hyrkanian blades” revive the tempo and convince with choral singing in the chorus, first-class drumming and superb guitar work.

Really epic it gets with “Oceans of pain”: The opening riff lets you guess in which spheres it goes. A song structure that strongly reminds me of Axel Rudi Pell, melodic, heavy and epic. Especially the instrumental part at the end of the song penetrates spheres, which I no longer heard since Uriah Heeps “July morning” and Candlemass / Abstract Algebras “Dustflow”. A hymn to kneeling down and enjoying.

It goes on with a real neckbreaker: “Born in the 70’s” invites you to boisterous headbanging. Strong riffs, melodic refrain and point-accurate drumming, it does not take more for a really good song. Also “Warlords of Mars” is in no way inferior to its predecessor.

The last song “Death before disgrace” is initiated with an acoustic guitar, but with the electric, it drifts back into the epic. Pell-like riffing and strong vocals carry the song and ensure a very strong close of the album. The best thing to do is to press the repeat button and listen to the entire album in a loop.

Battleroar – Oceans of Pain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctqUu-uh300

Lineup

Marco Concoreggi Vocals
Kostas “H.K.” Tzortzis Guitars
Manolis Karazeris Guitars
Gus Macricostas Bass
Nick Papadopoulos Drums

Label: Cruz del Sur Music

Out: 24. April 2008

Duration: 59:11

Track list

• The Wrathforge

• Dragonhelm

• Finis Mundi

• Metal from Hellas

• Hyrkanian Blades

• Oceans of Pain

• Born in the 70’s

• Warlord of Mars

• Death Before Disgrace

Release date: 24-04-2008
Reviewer: David Kerber
Score: 10