Kingcrimsonprog
Caesar Enters The Palace Of Doom is a two-track release from the Russian Rock/Metal band The Grand Astoria. It was released in 2011 and clocks in at just around ten and a half minutes in length, finding the band in a heavier and more menacing mood than their previous work.
The prolific Saint Petersburg based band have already released three studio albums since their 2009 inception, with the most recent one (Omnipresence) having also been released in 2011 as well as this separate collection of new songs.
The artwork for this release contains the same mascot who can be found on all the band’s previous artwork, taking on a new role as Caesar; which is a plus for fans of Maiden/Dio/Megadeth style approaches to album art.
The first track of the set, which is entitled ‘Caesar Enters The Palace Of Doom’ sounds like a bizarre mixture between the best parts of The Mars Volta, Mastodon and Megadeth, whereas the second track, ‘Enigma Satanica,’ is a longer and more progressive sounding instrumental track that maintains the Mars Volta edge but also mixes QOTSA style sounds with almost early King Crimson and ELP style sections, before laying into a gigantic set of guitar solos that put a lot of other players to shame.
Overall; despite only being two tracks long and having been released hot on the heels of a terrific studio album, Caesar Enters The Palace Of Doom is a wholly worthy release from a band continuing on a seriously high upwards trend. I would highly recommend it to anyone curious about the band or into absolutely any type of Rock/Metal, especially Prog or Stoner, which most of their previous work has blended together quite nicely.