siLLy puPPy After having gotten their feet wet in the mid-2000s with an EP and their debut album “Nuclear Winter,” the Athens based Greek band ORION’S REIGN seemingly disappeared from the scene as quickly as they emerged however a more careful analysis will find that in the decade gap between their debut and their 2018 long-awaited sophomore release SCORES OF WAR, the band were undergoing a series of lineup changes and most surprisingly of all an endless series of Christmas music singles that includes all the classics such as “We Wish A Merry Xmas,” “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (Heavy Metal Version),” “Carol Of The Bells (Symphonic Heavy Metal Version), “Deck The Halls,” “Jingle Bells (Heavy Metal Version)” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Symphonic Heavy Metal Version.)”

While such a path may not sound like the logical way for a metal band to find their way to their next album, somehow ORION’S REIGN made all the right decisions over the decade long period and finally release one of the most compelling displays of modern power metal that i’ve heard in a long time, a true surprise considering that the debut “Nuclear Winter” found a fledgling band checking off all the proper symphonic / power metal boxes but failed to coalesce the proper elements into totally convincing slices of modern metal that stood out from the pack. Hampered by an adequate but less than outstanding vocalist as well as a shoddy production and mixing job, “Nuclear Winter” served more as a demo that advertised the band’s potential rather than fully realized prowess. SCORES OF WAR on the other hand finally delivers on the promises of that very potential only touched upon.

Stylistically ORION’S REIGN doesn’t deviate significantly from where they started a decade ago. They continue their mix of symphonic and power metal with the expected operatic and melodic vocal performances accompanied by twin guitar metal attacks in the perpetual dance with the rhythmic bombast of bass and drum action with extra attention paid to lavish symphonic backdrops and rich vocal tapestries from the addition of several guest vocalists that form a choir. On paper, the two albums are identical, however SCORES OF WAR actually succeeds in placing all the required elements into the proper places and with the arrival of the outstanding vocalist Daniel Vasconcelos, the band is truly ready for primetime as not only to they find the proper vocalist but took the required studio time for the intricacies of production and mixing. The result is a perfect power metal specimen that stands proudly above the modern day competition.

In addition to the change of guard for vocal duties, bassist Kostas was replaced by guitarist Michael Batistatos who adopted the secondary bass duties for SCORES OF WAR and rhythm guitarist Themis found a replacement by George Thanasoglou. In addition to the five official members, the cast is joined by the additional keyboard works of Bob Katsionis and four guest vocalists which include Norwegian born Marit Minniva Børresen (who participated in most of the Christmas covers), Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest, Ice Earth etc), Mark Boals (Dramatica, Holy Force etc) and Irene Chrysostomidi. The new talent on board in conjunct with the excellent compositional arrangements and perfectly placed individual elements in relation to one another guarantees one of the best power metal experiences of 2018.

As “Elder Blood” introduces the album, we are treated to a substantially improved choir experience, a Celtic jig melody and the phenomenal vocal range of newbie Daniel Vasconcelos, who whizzes up and down the scale shattering glass with notes so high only your dog can hear them. With introductions unleashed, the track wastes no time jumping into a superb mix of thundering guitar riffs, pummeling bass and drums, symphonic backdrops and an excellent arrangement of Vasconcelos’ powerful operatic vocal style and the even more outstanding mix of the choral vocalists who often initiate a call and response effect. The track finds a satisfying climactic resolution with the twin guitar ferocity of neoclassical shredding as George Thanasoglou and Michael Batistatos trade off Maiden-esque guitar inspiration as well as pure neo-wankery. A perfect power metal track that cedes into the magnanimous nature that constitutes the entire SCORES OF WAR experience.

The album continues its symphonic metal bombast with a collection of eleven tracks that deliver the expected rampage expected from an album titled SCORES OF WAR. Whereas “Nuclear Winter” often felt like an exercise in futility, SCORES OF WAR is graced with a sense of self-assurance and epic perfection. Guitars gallop in a fiery power metal fury, bass and drums follow suit and the intricate melodies which are clearly fueled by power metal standards are infused with Celtic folk and other ethnic influences that offer tastier than usual forays into the melodic metal camps. Perhaps one of the most prominent of these Celtic folk outbursts comes int he form of “Nostros.” Like any great album SCORES OF WAR isn’t always on the rampage but has near ballad tenderness in the form of “Withering Heart” but for the most part the album sallies forth like a cannonade of soldiers on the battlefield.

Modern power metal is very hit and miss with me as i require the high standards of the genre to be up to par on every detailed level. The vocals have to be powerful and epic, the guitars have to smack you in the face and the rhythmic groove has to be incessantly powerful while the symphonic elements swoosh and swirl into atmospheric perfection. ORION’S REIGN somehow despite all odds got their act together and crafted an album that takes all of the best aspects of bands like Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, Nightwish, Iron Maiden, Helloween, Gamma Ray and other top power metal dogs and constructs a true slice of heavy metal perfection on SCORES OF WAR. The album is dramatically paced as it deviates just enough from the epic bombast in favor of interludes of sensual softness. In all honesty, the vocals of Vasconcelos in cahoots with the choral arrangements are what put this album in top league status for me. This is an outstanding example of modern symphonic power metal and one not to be missed.

siLLy puPPy Having formed in Athens, Greece in 2005, ORION’S REIGN took a more circuitous route than usual to get their product to market. Attracted to the more melodic side of metal ranging from he power guitar gallops and operatic vocal style of bands like Iron Maiden, Helloween and Gamma Ray the band quickly released two promo CDs titled “Steel Horizon” and “The Guiding Light” which caught the attention of the metal hungry fans and press of their local scene. After entering competitions for the Greek Heavy Metal and Metal Hammer Magazine, the band had crafted a strong enough track titled “Steel Horizons” which was included on the compilation CD “The Hellenic Assault.”

With the entry of vocalist Yiannis to the band, ORION’S REIGN would take on a more neoclassical and epic power metal approach to their songwriting skills and would continue their interest in blending classical and symphonic elements that featured extensive use of choirs fortified by the bombast of heavy metal guitars and rhythmic heft. After an introductory EP in the form of “Beyond Eternity” in 2007, the band found enough momentum to release their debut album NUCLEAR WINTER the following year in 2008. This debut would cannibalize much of the 2007 EP but tease out the possibilities into full album form.

NUCLEAR WINTER was released originally as a free download, an apparent attempt to expose the band to as much as the world as possible for everybody’s favorite price. The band started off as ambitious to say the least with six official members (Yiannis on vocals, Noel on drums, Michael on lead guitars, Kyriakos on keyboards and Themis on rhythm guitars) and no less than ten guests that not only added extra guitar, bass and keyboard parts but mostly provided the rich tapestry of vocals that constitute a full choir effect. While all sounds good, NUCLEAR WINTER unfortunately falls short of its goals and results in a rather lopsided classic 80s metal sound embellished with symphonic and power metal elements.

Musically ORION’S REIGN crafts a typical slice of symphonically embellished power metal with the expected melodic twin guitar fueled rampage through heavy riffing, extensive soloing and extra attention to keyboard dominated scenes that equal the rhythmic bombast of the bass and drum combo effect. While implementing the classic Helloween and Gamma Ray approach, this debut exercises many of the classic 80s metal tricks as well with bluesy metal shuffles and the lazy drumming only to keep the beat approach, however more often than not the band exude a sense of flashiness that displays their instrumental prowess in full glory with tracks like the instrumental “Steel Horizons” finding the greatest liberties in strutting their stuff.

Other deviations from the classic / power metal traditions include a Celtic jig intro on “Oldead” and other interesting folk oriented breaks out of the norm from time to time. Musically, a competent album indeed, so what’s not to like? Well, the production and mixing of this self-financed debut seems to be lacking and to be honest, the vocal style of Yiannis does get the job done but neither does he blow away any established great vocalist of the power metal world, nor does he exude any idiosyncrancies that allow him to stand out from the pack. While the backing vocals are aplenty, they are rather weak and almost inaudible for much of the album’s run. Add to that there are moments where they are out of tune with the lead singer and considering this is a melodic album through and through, not a desired element of dissonance that works. This is not a Meshuggah album.

Back to the production, the lead vocals are mixed way too high over the surrounding instrumentation which brings out the limitations of an adequate but not outstanding vocal ability of Yiannis. Every so often a few growly vocals are thrown in which make no sense in this context. Perhaps this all results that the band spent most of their early years without a vocalist and are trying to advertise that they are a now a vocal oriented band with an in-yer-face approach above all else. While NUCLEAR WINTER is a decent debut which was completely free of charge (and still is) to experience, this one could more properly be thought of as more of a demo of sort that displays the nascent symphonic power metal possibilities that are unresolved here.

The band manage to craft beautiful hooks with ample supplies of riffing and metal bombast and even master the tender moments where the folk and symphonic elements reign supreme but somehow the album feels rather amateurish despite the more than competent instrumental performances. While ORION’S REIGN attempt to create a lush epic sounding piece of power metal, the symphonic elements often get buried beneath the thundering distortion of the guitars and the percussive parts often fall into a lazy mode that doesn’t suit the style of music.

In the end NUCLEAR WINTER is a mixed bag. It hits the mark for the arrangements which master the symphonic and epic power metal aspects with elements of 80s classic metal and polyphonic vocal parts with extreme guitar bombast but fails to weave all the included elements into a completely satisfying and cohesive unit. Power and symphonic metal are very fragile in that it only necessitates a scant few elements to be off mark to derail the process and that is exactly what NUCLEAR WINTER feels like to me. An almost perfected album that due to financial restraint or time pressures to release, somehow got rushed through the final processes.

While intended for fans of Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, Nightwish, Sabaton, Iron Maiden and similarly related bands that emphasize melodic bombast as their primary goal, ORION’S REIGN found themselves at an awkward stage on NUCLEAR WINTER that doesn’t quite satisfy my power metal sensibilities despite displaying exquisite instrumental performances and a collection of eleven tracks that find themselves imitating perfectly yet not elevating themselves above the established status quo of the more sophisticated bands that have mastered the uncanny balancing acts that incorporating so many disparate elements of music requires. Still though, a good debut only with too many flaws to really break through the crowded metal scene.

DippoMagoo There are some bands I will follow for a while before hearing anything substantial from them, just out of the sheer promise they show in bursts. The most recent case of this is Greek symphonic power metal band Orion’s Reign. The band has been around for over thirteen years, releasing their debut Nuclear Winter in 2008, but they had escaped my attention completely until a few years ago when I saw one of their many yearly Christmas music videos. These tracks have always been equal parts silly, epic and just plain entertaining, and so when I heard the band was working on a new album in their current form, I was excited to see what they would be capable when writing their own material. Now that Scores of War is here, it’s safe to say, the band has shattered all my expectations, and delivered one of the absolute best power metal albums of the year!

Fans of the genre should have a good idea of what kind of material to expect here, as this is very much fantasy themed symphonic power metal in its most epic form, with the main focus being on symphonic keys and orchestras, with guitars serving mostly as rhythm for any sections, though when they do come to the front of the sound, they can be quite strong, with some classic heavy metal leads at times, in the vein of classic Maiden, as well as some excellent shredding solos. For the most part, though, it’s the symphonic arrangements and drums that carry the songs, and both of these elements are very well done, with the drums doing an excellent job in setting the pace, while the orchestral elements and symphonic keys are grand, sweeping and epic in every possible way, at times creating the atmosphere of a film score. There’s occasionally the use of folk elements as well, such as fiddles and bagpipes. While there’s always a lot going on, with most tracks containing multiple layers of orchestral elements, everything works together perfectly, and the actual songs are fairly straight-forward and always engaging. There’s also quite a bit of variety in the songs here, with the expected speedy power metal tracks being balanced out by a couple slower tracks, including a ballad, as well as a couple more folk-influenced songs, and other surprises. The album always manages to stay fresh and consistently amazing from start to finish. Performances are excellent all around, and production was handled by Jens Bergen, who did an excellent job as always.

The band has gone through a few lineup changes over the years, with their latest addition being vocalist Daniel Vasconcelos, who joined in 2015. For a while, the band had no vocalist and was just using guests for their various singles, but now with Dan in the group, they are ready to forge ahead. Thankfully, Dan is an excellent vocalist, with a rather deep and powerful voice, which fits the music perfectly. His vocals are often theatrical, somewhat operatic, and fit in well with the overall epic feel of the album, adding an extra layer to everything. He can sometimes get a bit more intense and uses some falsetto every one in a while, to great effect. There’s also a ton of choir vocals throughout the album, which are used quite effectively, as well as a few guests, who I’ll mention in the song by song descriptions.

Having only heard the band performing covers coming into this album, I was interested in seeing what their songwriting skills were like. Needless to say, they do not disappoint, as every song on Scores of War is fantastic in its own way, as the album manages to be both varied and consistently amazing the whole way through. Things kick off with the super epic opener “Elder Blood”, which starts off with an epic orchestral section, accompanied by choral vocals, before the metal instruments and Dan eventually kick in, and then the song speeds up and turns into an epic speedy symphonic power metal track, with excellent verses, an even better chorus, and some excellent rhythm guitar work throughout, as well as an excellent solo. Next is “Together We March”, another speedy track, where the symphonic elements are very prevalent throughout, with guitars mostly serving as rhythm, though they do so effectively. The song has fun verses and another strong chorus, this time with some excellent guest vocals from Tim “Ripper Owns”, who uses his signature falsetto vocals throughout the verses and chorus. There’s also an extremely epic vocal section in the second half, giving way to a great guitar solo, and overall it’s an absolutely wonderful track.

The first slower track is “Gravewalker”, another very epic track, dominated by symphonic elements and choir vocals. The verses are slow but have some rather hard-hitting guitar work, as well as some excellent orchestral sounds, and the chorus is huge, with Dan accompanied by some very epic choir vocals, making for one of the catchiest and most engaging choruses on the album. The track gets intense in the middle for a while, with a great instrumental section, and overall it’s one of my personal favorites here. The highlights keep coming with lead single “The Undefeated Gaul”, one of the fastest, hardest hitting tracks on the album. The riffs are extra aggressive here, and Dan gets very intense during the verses, giving way to a catchy, but frantic and very heavy chorus, which eventually leads to the heaviest instrumental section on the album, with some great shredding guitars. It’s a wild and intense track but still manages to be very epic and fun at the same time. Speaking of fun, “Adventure Song” is a slightly lighter but still fast-paced track, with some excellent choir vocals throughout. It has the vibe of a tavern song and features various folk instruments throughout, that give it the feel of a classic folk song, except with heavy guitars. It’s a fast, melodic and very catchy song, and certainly one of the cheeriest metal songs you’ll ever hear, with an especially great instrumental section, where several different folk instruments are used. The band returns to a more familiar symphonic power metal territory with “Freedom is not Negotiable, which has slow verses, but a fast and intense chorus, filled with more epic choir vocals, and as well as another intense instrumental section with some very heavy guitar work.

Another change of pace comes with “Nostos”, a very melodic mid-paced track, with a slight folk feel to it. The symphonic elements are dominant once again, and it’s a very light, upbeat track with some amazing vocal melodies throughout. It serves as a duet between Dan and Youtube cover vocalist Minniva, who had previously worked with the band on their past few Christmas carols. She fits the track perfectly, with very light but powerful vocals, that capture the vibe of the music wonderfully, and her higher vocals serve as a perfect contrast to Dan’s deeper voice, making them a great duo. The chorus is probably the catchiest and most engaging on the album, and overall it’s simply a wonderful track, and probably my favorite on the album. Next is “Warrior’s Pride”, a faster, more classic power metal feeling track. Guitars lead the way through most of the track, with heavy, driving riffs, and the chorus is fun and catchy, without being quite as grand as usual. The symphonic elements are still there but feel a bit less prominent than usual, and overall it’s a very fast and heavy track, with the occasional growls thrown in for some extra flavor. The lone ballad here is “Withering Heart”, which starts out as a soft piano ballad, but gradually develops into something much more epic, with a great use of choirs and orchestral elements, as well as having by the best vocals from Dan on the entire album, as he really steals the show, especially during the final run-through of the chorus, where he goes all out and absolutely nails it. One last speedy track is “Last Stand”, which certainly feels like the kind of song Rhapsody of Fire would have released in their prime. It’s very fast, intense and makes great use of symphonic elements, while still having some pretty heavy rhythm guitar work, as well as an excellent keyboard solo in the second half, performed by Firewind’s Bob Katsionis. Most vocals on the track are performed by Mark Boals, who does a great job as always, especially during an epic vocal section right at the end, which feels like it could have been a perfect end to the album. Instead, the band chose to close the album out with “Ride Into War”, a slow but very epic track, with a very classic Maiden vibe to the guitar work. It starts out with some classical piano, and stays soft and theatrical for a while before the guitars kick in and that classic heavy metal feel takes over for a while. It’s another very epic track, with great guitar work and an excellent chorus, and it does a nice job of alternating between soft and heavy sections throughout, making it an appropriate ending track.

Overall, Scores of War is an incredible album, from a band I had been following for a while to see if their original material could live up to their cover work. It’s safe to say, Orion’s Reign has not only lived up to my expectations, but they have also completely shattered them, and have produced the best symphonic power metal album of the year, as well as one of the best in recent years. It’s a consistently excellent album, with nicely varied songwriting, a great use of symphonic elements, and excellent guest vocals on a few tracks. Highly recommended for any power metal fan looking for something especially epic, as well as symphonic power metal fans looking for something similar to Rhapsody of Fire at their best, while still doing more than enough to stand out.

originally written for myglobalmind.com: https://myglobalmind.com/2018/10/19/orions-reign-scores-of-war-review/