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Human Fortress: Raided Land
Human Fortress Raided Land CD Album Review

Human Fortress: Raided Land

Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal
4.0/5.0

About face. Reverse course. After bailing briefly after their last album, the much discussed modern metal sounding Eternal Empire, Human Fortress has regrouped and apparently has returned to the roots of melodic power metal. They do this with a new bass player, Andre Hort, new keyboard player, Dirk Liehm, and new vocalist, Gus Monsanto (Revolution Renaissance, Adagio, et al).

Human Fortress Raided Land Band Photo

Human Fortress:: on a wind swept day.

Although much of the down tuning has been dismissed and Monsanto definitely singing clean, this album is quite heavy and raging at times, but in the classic metal sense. Raided Land, Child of War, Wasted Years, and Dark Knight find Human Fortress offering some blistering heavy power metal with Monsanto singing with intensity.

With Shelter and Gladiator of Rome (Part 2), the band calms down a bit, with the latter song feeling more like epic melodic power metal, rather than pummeling metal slamage. Actually, following the brief Prelude, the rest of Raided Land follows this course. Some songs are definitely heavier like Under Siege and Guard The Blind, but most will remind of early Human Fortress, and that's a good thing. In a sense, then, Raided Land is a tale of two discs with the front half still dipping into the heavier modern sound, the second half delivering more classic melodic power metal. Either way, if, as a fan, you weren't happy with their previous direction, you should like this return to form by Human Fortress.


HUMAN FORTRESS - The Chosen One (2013)





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In Short

With Raided Land, it's a return to an earlier form for Human Fortress with more melodic, sometimes heavier, power metal.

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