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Asgard: Outworld

Heavy/Power/Speed Metal

3.0/5.0

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My Graveyard Productions
by Craig Hartranft,  07.11.2013

Taking their name from one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology, Italy's Asgard offers their second album, Outworld. And it's pretty much more of the same from this band. With roots in NWOBHM, they offer traditional heavy or power metal, with a strong emphasis on some fierce speed.

Asgard: there was a sale on leather.

With few exceptions, most everything here is rather fast-paced, galloping, metal. The Interceptor, Outworld, and Wall of Lies are examples. These songs, and the others, are then peppered with basic metal guitar solos. Perhaps the prevalent feature of Asgard are the vocals of singer Federico "Mace" Mazza. He's ranges somewhere between screamer to squealer to shrieker, and he's as nearly as relentless as the speed metal that permeates this album. I recommend that you don't listen to Asgard and him if you have any sort of headache going on. Both band and vocalist will make you feel worse or possibly even pulverize your brain.

After these thoughts, for traditional speed/power metal Asgard is definitely the real deal. In other words, the know how to play this type of music. The problem, however, thanks to that very style, is that all the songs run together into a blur. And with Mazza's vocals screeching vocals leading the way, with little pause or relief, the whole matter can get tiring rather quickly. Perhaps the best thing to do is listen to Outworld in small bites, mixing in some other types of metal in between swallows.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

With Outworld, Asgard delivers a nearly relentless platter of traditional speed and power metal, with shrieking screaming vocals leading the way.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]