Stephen A friend asked me to try this album because he said that it's one of his top notch power metal albums of 2011. He claims this one is like a cross of EDGUY and HELLOWEEN, and I'll agree to that even though I'm not quite sure whether it's really a superb album as I spotted a few of fillers down there.

The grandiose epic opener, 'I Am', that spanned over 11 minutes, actually has the potential to become the best track here, but honestly I think it's simply too long and i'm sure they can just cut it to 8 minutes top, and it's still a wonderful tune. The tempo is dynamic and wrapped with folkish Celtic element, probably the most progressive track here. Now 'The Master Storyteller' is really excellent. Melodic heavy metal, with power chuggy riffs, the intro and chorus are tremendous.

'Nailed' reminds me of later day HELLOWEEN, another groundbreaker with an ultimate high-pitch screamer, the chorus is also very melodic. 'Light of The World' is another winner on the second half, but like I said earlier, there are some dull moments. 'The Gift of Music' is a balladic attempt which evolved into uptempo track, not great but also not bad. 'Drown' is pretty bad, and together with 'As The World Bleeds', both are the worst tracks here.

The production is great though. The rest 3 tracks are between average to good, and I arrived at the final score of 75%, and perhaps not as high as my friend's score which is around 85%-90%. If you like EDGUY and HELLOWEEN, guaranteed that you're going to chew this easily. Good stuff!

Conor Fynes 'As The World Bleeds' - Theocracy (8/10)

As a genre that is quite well-known for its vehemently anti-christian stance, it takes some balls to boldly stride into metal and preach the word of God. Matt Smith and his aptly titled Theocracy project seek to bring Christianity to the power metal masses, and I will open up my review by stating that this is a double-edged sword. While Smith's conviction to this belief system has resulted in a passionate performance and musically excellent album, there will be a great many metalheads who will turn up their noses upon learning that this band is rooting for the other team. That is really a shame, because Theocracy's 'As The World Bleeds' may very well be the best power metal album of the year.

This American power metal act's sound finds a tight resemblance to Edguy, and the sort of upbeat, technically virtuosic, neoclassical melodic speed metal that is so popular in Europe. Theocracy's debut featured only Matt Smith as the musician for every aspect of the band's sound, and 'As The World Bleeds' shows the project being upgraded into a full- blown band. This has certainly upped the quality of the musicianship. Theocracy delivers a killer performance, as intense as it is catchy and melodic. Smith's vocals in particular are spectacular, pulling off both operatic falsettos and intelligent harmonies. The songwriting is a step above much of the gimmicky power metal I have heard this year, as well. 'I Am' is an eleven minute epic of a song that builds up wonderfully, filled with memorable melodies and epic pay-offs.

The production polishes the work beautifully, and it is clear that 'As The World Bleeds' has been a work of labour. As power metal goes, it does not go quite as far as to reinvent the genre, but it packs quite a punch within the confines of the style. As great as Theocracy's work here is, there are a few issues. First and foremost- as many would have predicted- the lyrics will stand in the way of many listeners' full appreciation of what Theocracy are doing, including my own. While it may seem hypocritical to have no problem with themes of Satanism in metal and proceed to lambast Christian themes; it's largely the way the themes are dealt with that irks me. The contrast between the tender themes of Jesus' love and redemption that Smith sings about, and the dark sound of the guitars and 'badass' inflections he sometimes works into his vocal delivery won't do much but feed the detractors. Christian listeners of Theocracy's work will not have the same issue with this, I would imagine.

Another, smaller issue is the matter of flow and length. While the quality of musicianship and composition is top notch for power metal, there is a lack in variety that makes the hour length of 'As The World Bleeds' seem about ten minutes too long. The album's highlight is offered first, and from then on, it's more a case of following formula, as opposed to surprising the listener. Of course, power metal is not the hub of diversity in the metal world, but hearing a quirk here and there would have kept me as much on my feet as I was when the first intense moments of 'I Am' came flooding in. It will undoubtedly cause controversy among metal fans, but Theocracy is undeniably good at what they do; excellent, even. 'As The World Bleeds' has its weaknesses which keep it from being stellar, but it stands as being the most impressive thing I have heard from power metal this year.

Time Signature The gift of music...

Genre: power metal

Solidly placed somewhere in between US power-thrash/speed and Euro-power metal, Theocracy are ready to tear down your entire town with their forthcoming third album "As the World Bleeds".

Drawing on the thrash tendencies of a lot of US power metal, Theocracy ensure that their album kicks ass most of the time, while the big and epic sound of Euro-power metal is utilized to make sure that the album stays melodic and catchy and, of course, epic. Thus, "As the World Bleeds" contains both thrashy and crushing riffage and catchy and epic choruses as well as extremely melodic vocal lines and loads of melodic guitar leads. In addition, Theocracy have inserted quirky and progressive elements into some of their tracks, which heightens level of interestingness to an even higher degree - just check some of the almost jazzy passages in 'The Master Storyteller'.

The album is thus quite balanced in terms of cheesiness such that even a potential cheese-bomb like "The Gift of Music" - with its 80s-TV-show-theme-like guitar leads - actually remains a joyful listen throughout, as it develops from a power ballad into a fierce power-thrasher.

The musicianship is top notch, as is the production, and the album is overall an extremely enjoyable and colorful listen. Well done, Theocracy!