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Pegazus > The Headless Horseman > Reviews
Pegazus - The Headless Horseman

Hooray for shitty singers! - 15%

grimdoom, December 10th, 2008

Three years after releasing what is easily the bands finest work 'Breaking the Chains", it was a shock to hear that Pegazus had parted ways with the phenomenal vocalist Danny Cecati. One would've presumed that his predecessor would've been able to match or top his vocal prowess, sadly this wasn't the case. What the bands founder Johnny Stojcevski was thinking when he hired Rob Thompson is anyone guess but one thing is for certain, he was thinking clearly.

The production is more or less the same as it was on 'Breaking the Chains'. The musicianship is also tighter than it was on the bands previous efforts as well. The musical direction is also different than what we heard on the prior release. What we have here is something more in line with the European Metal scene and thus more generic. The riffs are catchier but this isn't a bad thing. The distortion has been cut back a little bit and had it not been for the speed of the music, this could've been a Hard Rock album.

Apart from the lack of distortion, the guitars are heavier and more aggressive. The leads are par for the course but the solos are stepped up a little. This isn't to say that Johnny's gone from novice to Yngwie by any means, but there are a few more complicated solos thrown in the mix. The bass is bland and very cookie cutter for the style. Sadly nothing too interesting here. The drums, the last studio offering from Robbie Stojcevski is pretty good. Again, not to dissimilar from the bands prior efforts but faster and with perhaps a little more flare.

Up to this point everything is fine with the album. The new direction, while more stripped and mainstream is still acceptable, but the vocals are what utterly destroy this album. Rob Thompson is by far the worst Power Metal vocalist of all time. His pitiful attempt at vocals are nothing more than a mid-range shout and a sporadic hi-pitched shout. One can only imagine how badly he must've fucked up classics like "Metal Forever" and "The Crusades". The band has never shied away from the fact that they enjoy Hair Metal, but to put someone that would work better in a Motley Crue tribute band as the replacement for someone with a 3-4 octave range is what's known as career suicide.

On the other side of the coin, Johnny steps up to do the vocals for a tribute song to Philip Lynott from Thin Lizzy (his all time favorite band apparently) called 'Balled of a Thin Man'. The body of the song is made up of song titles from the aforementioned group cleverly sewn together to make a tasteful tapestry of praise. He is a pretty decent singer in his own right and certainly leagues ahead of Rob.

The lyrics are the in the same vein that we've come to expect from the band/style and as such are alright. Aside from the title track there is no real theme to the album. The song writing is good too. In fact, the only let down are the horrible vocals. This would never be better than 'Breaking the Chains' even in Danny was still with them during its recording, but it would've been infinitely better.

Judas Priest! We love you! - 87%

OSheaman, August 13th, 2003

Wow. Well, I suppose if your band was formed exclusively to worship one particular band, you might as well go all out about it.

Seriously, this band is total Judas Priest worship. They even wear studded leather in the band photo, AND the lead singer's name is Rob. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, this is pretty good Speed Metal, althuogh as I said before, it's nothing I didn't hear on Painkiller 11 years ago. The guitar work is very solid, with riff after riff and note after note of pure Speed Metal, complete with a drum line calculated to evoke maximum headbanging. The vocalist isn't as screechy as Halford, but the high voice is definitely there, as are the catchy chorus lines. Overall, everything about this album is complete Speed Metal mastery; I would've given it an 'A' if there was anything original about it, or even if they had drawn some influences from any other bands, but as the new Judas Priest, this band must be slapped with an 'Unoriginal' stamp and kept solidly in the 80 range.

Highlights. The Headless Horseman is the classic Judas Preist catchy number, with the singalong chorus "Heads . . . will . . . roll!" Nightstalker is the title track of Priest's greatest album, altered by replacing 'Painkiller' with 'Nightstalker'. A Call to Arms is serious headbanging material with a great 1-2 beat under some quasi-galloping opening riffage. Look to the Stars has a fantastic guitar solo section and is fairly catchy in and of itself. Forever Chasing Rainbows is the one exception to the Judas Priest worship rule, as the can't-fuck-up opening riff combined with the "Let's go!" scream at the beginning of the melody is signature Kai Hansen material (although Kai himself worships Judas Priest . . . so it all vicariously comes back to the Priest).

Pure fucking Speed Metal. If you're a fan of the genre, this is food for the soul. If Judas Priest never hit it off with you (you loser), keep searching.