JUDICATOR — Sleepy Plessow (review)

Album · 2013 · Power Metal

4.5/5 · 2013-06-29
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Sleepy Plessow (2013) is the second full-length release by US power metal duo Judicator. As with all previous work by the group Sleepy Plessow is available for free download. The album follows hot on the heels of debut effort King of Rome (2012), with not even a full year between the two albums. Despite such a short time frame between releases, which also saw the group release two non-album singles, one of which was a German sung version of one of Sleepy Plessow’s tracks, things seem to have taken a bit of a different turn within the Judicator camp.

While I’m still happy to consider Sleepy Plessow a power metal album, it also draws on a lot of traditional heavy metal aspects. While King of Rome came across as unashamed Blind Guardian worship Sleepy Plessow sees Judicator developing more of their own sound, which involves a less speed obsessed approach to instrumentalist Tony C’s guitar riffs, which gives the album more variety, something which also comes out in progressive form in a few places with an increased complexity to the arrangement, which includes sections of spoken word to further the conceptual plot of the album (which deals with the story of Prussia, “leading up to and focusing on the life of Friedrich der Grosse (Frederick the Great)”) as well as light non-metal sections where the band can show off their extra melodic side.

The bigger change to Judicator is the vocal department. John Yelland remains the lead vocalist of the group but this time he is joined by Tony C on a couple of the early tracks. Tony uses the same sort of harsh vocals that can be heard in Sedulity, a progressive thrash metal band that he fronts. The use of additional singers is a standard of the album, and after Tony’s appearances John is joined by a total of eight others including Bryan Edwards (Vermiform, ex-Seven Kingdoms) who provided the harsh vocals on King of Rome. Other guests include some unknowns to the metal scene, but also there is Patrick Hoyt Parris (Project: Roenwolfe, Lascaille's Shroud) and Chad Anderson (Dead Revelator, guitars in Disforia), who also programmed the drums this time around. Growling is a lot more common on Sleepy Plessow than it was on King of Rome, especially for the genres of music that Judicator falls into, but it all works out rather well and shows off power metal’s most aggressive side.

King of Rome was a solid debut from Judicator, if a little unoriginal. While Sleepy Plessow doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel either it’s clearly the work of a band who have come into their own, and in record time. It’s not an album that makes me say that it sounds like another band, as I could with King of Rome. Judicator have found more of their own identity and it’s really paid off for them, with the epic near twelve minute track Blut vom Himmel being both the best song of the album and the crowning achievement of the band so far. The quality of the music is continually high though and a few of the other tracks I'd like to give a mention to are The Elector, Release Me and The Philosopher King. An exceptional grade rating is deserved.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/judicator-sleepy-plessow-t3009.html)