Forgotten Prophecies

Paragon, Germany’s own riff masters, have returned to bring us their 8th studio release, called 'Forgotten Prophecies'. It’s another huge slab of riff-driven heavy metal, the only way Paragon do things. For fans of American 80s heavy metal, or even those who like the odd thrash tune, then 'Forgotten Prophecies' is right for you.

Paragon’s sound is quite different from their German power metal counterparts. Really putting everything into their riffs, solos and melodies; everything else is just in its simplistic form. While Paragon go to town on this CD in the riff department and with the solos, which I must admit kicks bloody ass, everything else hasn’t been given the same treatment, and unfortunately it sticks out.

The choruses, much like with American or European heavy metal 80’s bands, are quite simple and ineffective. It’s rather strange for a band to put everything into their riffs and the structure, etc; but when it comes to the chorus, where it’s one of the most remembered parts of a song, they really don’t bother with it and I feel that it is uninspiring and brings the song down. Riffs only last in your mind for a short time, while choruses tend to be remembered more. Therefore, I really feel that Paragon are denying themselves where every song, basically, has a crappy chorus.

I've also found there to be a slight lack of bass guitar on the CD. Obviously, the twin guitar blast will be most prominent, but there are quite a few songs on the release where I find it hard to hear/feel the bass. The vocalist too, has me asking questions. Andreas Babuschkin is certainly not the best vocalist in the world and although I do enjoy his somber but also rather gruff vocal delivery, I feel that he sounds inconsistent at times. Perhaps it is from the production, but sometimes his voice becomes hard to hear and understand through the never-ending riffing from the guitarists. To me, Andreas Babuschkin in his normal somber sound; reminds me of a cross between Iron Savior’s Piet Sielck and Gamma Ray’s Kai Hansen. But in his gruff mode, which I do prefer, he sounds very similar to both Grave Digger’s Chris Boltendahl and Dragonheart’s André Mendes.

With all that being said, the songs on ‘Forgotten Prophecies’ are still fairly decent, despite a real letdown in the chorus department. There are no real standouts here, but some of the songs on this release do sound a little repetitive. Aside from all that, I really do enjoy “Souleaters” and find it to be the best track on the CD. It’s probably the most melodic track on the CD and also isn't as riff orientated as the rest of the tracks. A find a massive similarity to Primal Fear on this track and the chorus (finally) is pretty good. Topped off with a decent solo, “Souleaters” is an awesome track.

Other songs on ‘Forgotten Prophecies’ which are worth mentioning, are “Hammer Of The Gods” and “Arise”. Both have outstanding riffs and solos, but their choruses leave a lot to be desired.

In all, those who enjoy this type of 80s heavy metal with some thrash influences, and with a modern touch sprinkled through it, will find something with ‘Forgotten Prophecies’, especially with the huge amount of riffs and solos. But if you want the complete package, which includes a kick-ass chorus among other things, then you may not be as satisfied. I’ll leave it to you to make up your own mind.

Originally written for www.metalcdratings.com (2008)

Ah, good old Paragon. A band you can really rely on and know on beforehand that “this album will surely rule”. And of course, as always, it’s awesome. Pure traditional heavy metal as it was written in the book. No keyboards, no silly pop refrains, no following any trend just plain and hard metal. And they’re so fucking good at doing it! Many people say that they need to get more diverse and widen their horizons, I say why change a winning concept? I mean any metalhead can’t deny that this is good? Their heads will automatically start banging and in a second the air guitar is there too.

Already some seconds into the opener “Hammer Of The Gods” it’s like the guys hit your face and says “This is metal!”. The song ia a fast aggressive and just splendid song which can be ranked as one of the best this band has ever done. And even if the rest of the songs isn’t exactly as superb, they are still aweome. Some are a bit weaker than the average though, I can for example feel that the instrumental “Revelations” is a bit unnecessary. Also “Arise” and “Gangland” are a bit weaker (last mentioned has a splendid solo section though). But in general it’s as always: Paragon is a very consistent band and they have a very high “lowest level” on most of their albums. I mean what more can you ask for? Some fast songs, some mid-paced heavy fuckers and one slower half-ballad? Perfect mix if it’s quality in the songs which you’ve realized that it is on here.

So there is not any real fatal minuses in the songs. But the most negative thing with this album is one thing: the drums. VERY bad mixed and I can imagine that the (back then) new drummer Chris Gripp got very frustrated with how the drums ended up. There’s no flaws in the playing but it’s how they sound alright. Very farty and thin, no punch in them at all which is very sad for the whole experience of the album. Another flaw in the mix would be the gang-vocals parts (which mostly is the choruses). Quite laid back and that destroys the feeling of them. On the production’s brighter side we have the guitars which instead of the drums and back up vocals, are awesomely mixed. The guitars are really raw and sounds “metal”...no sorry the guitars just screams METAL. Imagine if there had been more thundering from the drums and put the backing vocals a bit up front? Paragon could’ve made a dream record production wise.

But almost no album is perfect in every aspect, and even if this is not that really, it is a album that every fan of heavy metal should buy and just dive into. And the replay value is ridiculously high. Paragon are one of the best band these days, and you’ll plain and simply miss something if you don’t give them a chance.

3 best songs: “Hammer Of The Gods”, “Halls Of Doom” and “Souleaters”

BANG YOUR HEAD! This is the 8th full length from true metal maniacs Paragon, and if you know Paragon, then you know that you don't really have to read this review, and you can just go get this CD now.

But for those uninitiated, and because I'm required to write a longer review than the above 2 sentences, Paragon are a German heavy/power metal band with aggressive yet clean vocals, heavy riffs, a crunchy, gargantuan guitar tone that just rolls over you like a steamroller, and pounding drums that turn your skull mercilessly into tiny grains of dust, with probably the best production of their entire career. Seriously, I have rarely ever heard such a thick, full, heavy production on a traditional heavy metal album, and Paragon have really cranked up the metal here. This album makes their previous efforts sound like fucking Stratovarius albums in comparison. Maybe I'm exaggerating there, but this album seriously has one of the best production jobs I've ever heard.

Aside from that, Paragon have also mastered their art with this one. German power metal isn't really the most diverse genre of music, and there are a lot of bands that you just listen to for a fun, headbanging heavy metal experience. Paragon is definetly one of those bands, but this album is of exceptionally high quality. I don't think it's quite as fun and consistant as the band's 6th album The Dark Legacy, but that album wasn't nearly as good, songwriting-wise, as this one is. That album had no songs as strong as the epic, pounding 7 minute assault of "Agony", or the completely fucking awesome "Hammer of the Gods", which is probably one of the 3 or 4 best songs Paragon ever wrote, or the old school heavy metal feast of "Souleaters." The title track is also worthy of note. When Revenge came out, I thought the title track of that album was heavy and fast, but the title track here almost makes that one look slow. Andreas Babuschkin snarls and shrieks out his most insane vocal preformance yet as the riffs set your useless corpse aflame and throw it right into the bloodied river. Paragon have never gone for the throat like this. They got really close, but this is the most aggressive and angry they've ever been. If all it takes for them to make music this cool is to piss them off, then someone better keep doing it.

I don't think this album is quite as fun as the ones that preceeded it though. It may be dark and heavy as fuck, but the other albums were not nearly as angry as this one, and thus they felt a lot more 'fun', I guess you could say. They had endless replay value, and especially Law of the Blade was a great slice of pulpy, nerdy science fiction awesomeness. But this one is all serious business, and the band has cranked up the epic factor in their music. It's a good thing, but I don't feel inclined to replay this one all the time, not like the other albums. And while I'm nitpicking, I might as well mention that Paragon have, in pure Paragon fashion, closed the album with an unspectacular closing song and then a pretty-good-but-unnecessary cover of an older band (but fuck, the opening basslines of that Overkill cover just murder my eardrums!). There are also a few other fillers, but they're not as bad as the ones on older albums.

If you like Paragon or heavy metal in general, get this. If you don't, well, you're a lost cause.