Company: Massacre Release: 2016 Genre: Power Reviewer: Greg Watson
A ripper from start to finish
Greek metallers Mystic Prophecy return with 'War Brigade', what I consider to be the band's best album to date. Heavy, melodic, and full of face-melting solos, this one is a ripper from start to finish. Vocalist R.D. Liapakis sounds his best ever melding growls, snarls, and soaring vocals in to a very intense mixture. The production is clean and precise with the vocals, guitars and drums with the bass side being a little toned down or lacking some of the time. "Metal Brigade", "The Crucifix", and "Fight for One Nation" are the standout tracks with the latter featuring one of the catchiest riffs. "Good Day to Die" utilizes a really cool sound bite from "300" and is a fascinating lyrical song as well. The surprise track on the album for me was the cover of "Sex Bomb" by Tom Jones--the song is still super cheesy and just awful but hearing it metalized with thundering guitars and drums behind it was very entertaining. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this album much more than I did 2011's 'Ravenlord' and 2013's 'Killhammer' as it just felt more cohesive and possessed better songwriting than the previous efforts.
