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Human Fortress: Reign Of Gold
Human Fortress: Reign Of Gold
Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal
3.5/5.0
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AFM Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 04.12.2019 | Released: 06.12.2019
Every three years or so Germany's Human Fortress revisits the studio to record a new album. With their most stable line up since 2013, and vocalist Gus Monsanto without his beard, the band offers their sixth long-player, Reign Of Gold for AFM Records.
Human Fortress
As you might expect, Reign Of Gold is another venture into Human Fortress' melodic, symphonic, and bombastic power metal. As opposed to the huge turd of an album, Eternal Empire. Yeah, I haven't forgot about that one.
Other adjectives for the Human Fortress metal might include heavy and dense, essentially from the twin guitar riffage, symphonic synth embellishment, and strong bass and large drums in the rhythm section. Above all this Monsanto attempts to rise above the thunder and tumult of Human Fortress' power metal. Thanks to some expert mixing and mastering, his voice is heard. The last musical element to add are the soaring guitar solos but, sometimes, even those can get muted by the larger musical arrangement. Nevertheless, if you dig epic power metal, you will enjoy Reign Of Gold.
Some of the most epic and bombastic tunes are Thunder, The Blacksmith, Surrender, and Victory. With those latter two songs, Monsanto goes off the rails with his vocals, sounding more raw and raging. Conversely, the folk metalish Shining Light finds him singing calm and melodic over piano and synth orchestration, before the song eventually rises to a metal anthem. The Celtic/folk motif returns again within Martial Valor, a marching power metal song with thick riffs, rhythmic drumming, and Monsanto once more sounding more assertive. Excepting those songs where vocalist Gus Monsanto gets assertive and screamo, Reign Of Gold is another entertaining album of Human Fortress' epic and bombastic power metal. Recommended if you like the band and anything they've done after Eternal Empire.
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The Bottom Line
Excepting those songs where vocalist Gus Monsanto gets assertive and screamo, Reign Of Gold is another entertaining album of Human Fortress' epic and bombastic power metal. Recommended if you like the band and anything they've done after Eternal Empire.
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