Wargods of Metal

Power metal fans typically have a love/hate relationship with Sacred Steel. On one end of the spectrum, are those who appreciate the simplistic, driving song structure. Critics of the band often site the inherent lack of originality; or more commonly, the vocalist. Certain metal genres are so flooded with artists that satisfactory efforts tend not to stand out. In the world of power metal, only high quality releases are able to rise above the crowd. Sacred Steel has many of the elements required to produce a classic, but lack an equal amount.

German style power metal tends to come off flowery or cheesy to most listeners. Sacred Steel hails from Germany, but has a sound more along the lines of US power metal counterparts. Wargods of Metal is heavier than an album like “Keeper of the Seven Keys,” but fails to hit as hard as; say, Steel Prophet’s debut. Speedy guitar riffs are generally a common ingredient to the genre: Sacred Steel deliver in that department. Raging drums? Yes. Two major elements are present in the band’s repertoire, yet a duo of vital aspects is missing.

First, the band’s speedy, heavier than normal approach is insufficient to offset the lack of memorable melody. Steel’s Prophet’s debut was light on epic, fist pumping zest, but the songs tore through the eardrums like a feral carnivore. Sacred Steel simply does not have the lasting vitality to compete. For example: the title track commences with a furious tempo and rigid guitar tone, but the riff is merely passable. A band caught in this situation could redeem themselves with an eminent chorus; however, Sacred Steel kicks the bucket and offers a one-liner chorus that lacks the ability to engage the listener. When Sacred Steel lowers the tempo, the situation darkens even further. The slow tracks on the album drag on until they become harrowing. Wargods of Metal fails miserably the moment it ceases to be a one-dimensional speed exhibit. Solos feel statutory, and the bass is lowered in the mix.

Secondly, Gerrit Mutz is tragically horrible. Most power metal vocalists are able to operate within a reasonable range, offer a solid performance, and stir at least a rudimentary emotional response. Gerrit offers none of the above qualities; instead, resembling a child experimenting with helium. His voice often destroys an otherwise decent song. “Carnage Rules the Fields of Death” is the prime example of Gerrit’s crime against power metal, causing any that listen to wish a quick death (on either Mutz or themselves). Without a solid front man, Sacred Steel butchers the classic Omen song, “Battle Cry,” which is a shame because the riff work is pretty good.

Is Wargods of Metal a complete waste of money? No. “Army of Metalheads” is actually a song that feeds on Sacred Steel’s strength. The main riff is piercing, like a surgical scalpel tearing through flesh. Alongside the formidable drum assault, the band manages to proficiently harness its simplistic chorus writing. If allowed to copy and paste sections of the album’s tracks, a significant EP could be produced.

You ever have one of those trippy experiences where you listen to something you love and realize you can no longer stand it? Your tastes have changed maybe, maybe some new thing about it has jumped out at you and ruined your experience of the album, maybe you're just so familiar with the sumbitch that you've bred yourself a whole heaping helping of contempt for it.

Well, its almost as bad when you go back to a cherished old kicking post of a record and realize... hey, this isn't that bad. I went back to the Goddess of Desire - Symbol of Triumph LP which I distinctly remember being ass, only to discover that it had mysteriously morphed into a really ridiculous album with four or five rock fucking solid tracks. This made me very sad. I feared to listen to Sacred Steel for fear of them not being as bad as I recalled. I mean, Mutz is involved with GoD so it could be... might be... are they?

Hahaha. No. Sacred Steel still sucks ass. I honestly picked a Sacred Steel album at random (I have the first three - don't ask) knowing it wouldn't matter since they all sound the same, and listened to it. I may adjust this score a touch when I listen to and review the other two so I can judge how awful this is by SS standards but suffice to say you ought not bother buying this. Actually, allow me to rephrase: don't buy this piece of crap.

So, what's wrong with yonder warriors of metal and their plastic disc full of yet more boiling metal? Well, its generic as all get-out. One of the measures of quality is memorability. There is a marked division between great bands and good ones; great bands are instantly memorable, good ones often have to work their way into your memory banks. Sacred Steel is neither of these things; these songs are literally in one ear and out the other. I listened to this thing three times in a row and it was like a wholly new experience each time. Or rather, like one unbroken stream of songs I don't like stacked atop one another, as if Sacred Steel had decided to release a triple disc LP.

Sacred Steel is generic power metal on the heavy side, the crunchier and slower school of Germanic power metal thought. They're nowhere near as heavy as say, Iced Earth, but they're certainly a bit weightier than Helloween or Sonata Arctica. The guitars aren't all that active (none of the weightless air dance of a Blind Guardian for example), mostly sticking to the riffs and not really weaving too many melodic stuff o'ertop, solos less neo-classical and more rootsy, one rather clever moment coming when the band drops out and lets a Hendrix-y feedback squawk take center stage during... uh. That song. "Iron Legions" or "Tonight the Witches Ride"... I think. Ugh.

Anyway, the riffage tends to be more in the USPM-vein, not at all thrashy in construction but somewhat in the riffage with some tempo changes and quick (but simplistic) picking. Overall these songs aren't at all dynamic, mostly just the same three or four riffs throughout the song and a somewhat lighter sing-along-y chorus that is instantly forgotten by the time you get to the next verse. Seriously, if I wanted to sing-along with this crap I would be hard-pressed. And God, look away from sludge like "Battle Cry" which attempts to inject some melody into the mix... the album's ballad.

The drums are competent and the bass is inaudible. Moving along to the real anchor dragging this down into the formless void of useless scrap metal (along with the totally unremarkable songwriting)...

Gerrit P. Mutz. The man is a joke, and not a good one. I heard a few people trying to describe his voice, and none of them have managed it. He's probably metal's first true warbler, vocals wavering all over the place (even when he's not doing a high note!), heavy accent absolutely butchering the English language:

(dramatization)
Iiiiuuuuhhhhnnn leeeeeguuuuhns

And you have not laughed until you've heard this douchecunt say the word 'mehtul'. He really says it like that. While warbling. And holding high notes. And presumably waxing his sword. And then it gets even better on the last track, "Heavy Metal to the End", which 'boasts' possibly the worst chorus in metal history. In this masterwork, Mutz is joined by a gang of equally inept and FUCKING GERMAN backing vocalists to further enforce his incredibly silly voice. And since they're singing in a lower register he sounds like more of a whimpy punk than he usually does... and then he tries to go up an octave. Oh dear me. He's high pitched, but not like Kiske or Halford; more like a guy who's been kicked in the balls, or a clown just as the helium is starting to wear off.

Good points: awesome guitar tone, solid playing, that one feedback spot...
Bad points: pretty much everything else.

Wow, and I didn't even mention the lyrics.

Stand-Out Tracks: "Tonight the Witches Ride"... I either don't remember the rest or they suck

I liked this album a little more than Bloodlust, but not by much. See to me at least, Sacred Steel is doing exactly what every other power metal band is doing, so they just kind of get pilled in with all the other power metal bands. There is nothing exceptional that puts them at the top, or even in the top ten.

What I like most about this album is the guitar work. Usually in power metal you see the straight power chord/fast picking. Well that is in here too, but there are a lot of cool licks and solos that make the guitar work shine. Some examples of the cool riffs are the intro to Dethrone the Tyrant King and the intro and main riff to Wargods of Metal (arguably the best song on this album). The drumming is also pretty good at making the music blend together, which is extremely important in Power Metal.

The vocals are better on this album, but they are still kind of whinny, which can get annoying after awhile. If you've never heard Sacred Steel, the vocals kind of sound like Tobias Sammet from Edguy, or really old Helloween. There are a lor of high pitch screams on this album, and the only really good one performed is the beginning one on Wargods of Metal. I would like to point out a song called Empire of Steel which features a bass intro and a very catchy riff. The next song, Deceleration of War, has a cool intro with synthesized vocals. Sacred Steel should throw in more stuff like this, because the same old riffs and singing style make these album boring.

Overall it is really good album if you like Power Metal. If you don't even like an ink of Power Metal....you know what to do. I would also like to introduce the themes of most of the songs on this album. These are some of the words that show up in the songs: Metal, Death, War, Battle, Gods, etc. There is also a very prominent theme here of real metal and false metal. Looks like someone took a heavy dose of Manowar before writing this album!