RAMPART
'War
Behest'
(Inferno
Records)
Bulgarian
metal stalwarts Rampart are back on mission, this time with their
sophomore CD album, following an amazing 'appetizer' cassette EP
released in 2011. Change of personal more often than not equals a
slight change of musical direction, a notion much evident for the
band since the day axeman Vili Neshev has taken over the songwriting
helm. Displaying more complex, richer, song structures and multitude
of tempo changes, the music is still retaining a strong dose of
melody, nicely complimented by brilliant guitar solos. Power
progressive metal is quite a fitting term for this album, compared
to the more orthodox traditional power-speed the band used to explore
on their debut full-length, 'Voice Of The Wilderness'.
Lyrically,
this is an ambitious project, billed as metal opera - to quote the
band themselves: 'This conceptual piece of music consists of
10 compositions and presents an anti-utopia of war as clash of
interest. In the real nature of conflict there are no losers and
winners. The opposition is a result of our free will. This is a story
about the restrictions of man and the decisions he could take on his
way to perfection.' According to Maria (vocals) the lyrics also could
be applied as a metaphor of the band's history thus far.
Starting off with an
epic introduction that sets the tone of the war to come, the real
battle soon begins, helped by massive, panzerfaust-like, production
job. 'War Behest' is simply an awe-inspiring album and the listener
would be well pleased by all of the featured ingredients - the
melody-laden riffs and solos, powerful rhythm section and Maria's
diverse vocal styles used throughout the tunes. Top honours go to the
bone-crushing speed metal of 'Ghost Of Freedom', 'Fire Circle'
(featuring a guest appearance of the violin player Sofia Vancheva
from Vipera and Мъртво), the compelling epic that is 'Up In
Arms' and 'Give Nothing Back'. Nothing's being left to chance - the
audio aspects have been handed by Thord Klastrom of Gallows End,
while the artwork is done by the well respected Bulgarian artist
Dimitar Nikolov (Keep It True Fest, Ross The Boss, Sentinel Beast
etc).
RAMPART are still
waving the flag of power metal with pride, both domestically and
abroad. Go out and see them live if they're touring near to your
lair, a string of European dates has been planned for the Summer. And
at any rate - order 'War Behest', which is available with a bonus
disc featuring the mini 'A Tale To Cold' (review here).
[9]
(Asen Asenov)
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