Produced by Endel Rivers and Black Majesty
Released: 2003
This debut album by Black Majesty marked them as something very special in the power metal arena. From the three-track sampler I was priveleged enough to hear a year or so before the complete album was released I knew this would be good, but even that didn’t prepare me for the experience of hearing this in full.
Sands of Time is such a well-crafted blend of European style power metal and Queensrÿche-like progressive metal that it’s almost hard to believe. The cover art is a bit unfortunate, making it look like the dozens of second rate acts that litter the market, because this is one of the better albums of its kind you will hear. The promo disc’s stand out cut ‘Fall of the Reich’ opens proceedings at a power-metal flavoured faster pace; however, the balance of Sands of Time takes on a distinctly progressive feel and style, reflected in the complex arrangements of the songs and a truly outstanding vocal performance from John Cavaliere. Musically too, Black Majesty are far more than simply impressive, with a typically Australian ballsier edge than their European counterparts. The guitar solos in ‘Journey’s End’, for example, are simply breathtaking; indeed the work of Hanny Mohammed and Steve Janevski on this album is up there with any of the great metal guitar teams that you could mention.
Cavaliere is also helped out occasionally by Silvio Massaro of Vanishing Point and the towering range of Eyefear/ex-Pegazus vocalist Danny Cecati, and their contributions do nothing but further the already significant appeal of this recording. Sands of Time is a masterpiece.
- Fall of the Reich
- Legacy
- Guardian
- Sands of Time
- Destination
- Journey's End
- Colliding Worlds
- No Sanctuary
- Beyond Reality
- Lady of the Lake
Rating: 90%
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