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High Priestess (2014) is the third full-length album by Canadian heavy/power metal act Kobra and the Lotus. The band's line-up apart from vocalist Kobra Paige has hardly been a stable one and High Priestess again brings some changes to it, with the band mostly recording the album as a three piece. Though Brad Kennedy is mentioned in the album liner notes, the bass on the album was played by guitarist Jasio Kulakowski. Additional lead guitars are played by Charlie Parra del Riego.
Though Kobra and the Lotus tends to call themselves and be called a traditional heavy metal band the music on their self-titled album was actually a mix of that and power metal. On High Priestess they sound has stretched even further into power metal territory. That's the heavier hitting USPM type for the most part to my ears and I would call High Priestess a power metal album over a heavy metal album any day. A couple of the songs also feature a thrash metal edge most notably I Am, I Am which is more of a thrash metal song than anything. The band blends all three styles pretty well though and once again have produced a record that has classic metal written all over it. Cheesy power metal this certainly isn't.
While I still haven't heard their debut album Out of the Pit (2009) in full, the self-titled album immediately struck me as a band who'd improved by leaps and bounds based on the few songs I had heard from the debut. That growth can also be observed on High Priestess though as the self-titled was also a high quality album the results aren't as dramatically jaw-dropping this time, but by focussing even more on power metal Kobra and the Lotus have done exactly what I'd hoped they'd do. They're good at traditional metal but great at power metal, and the thrash elements are a nice addition to the album making I Am, I Am one of the best songs on offer along with Warhorse, Soldier, Battle of Wrath and Willow. While the guitar playing is great and really gets across the classic metal vibe of Kobra and the Lotus' music, once again it's the powerful singing of Kobra Paige herself that steals the show here.
With High Priestess Kobra and the Lotus have continued what they began on their self-titled and in my opinion outdone themselves. They've really played to the strengths made apparent on their last album while also covering some new ground. 4.5 Stars.
92/100
(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/kobra-and-the-lotus-high-priestess-t3635.html)