Fortunately, this album is neither long, nor complicated. Clocking in at a solid 48 minutes, this quartet is presenting us with what they call "Super metal". Well, I would rather call it power metal deluxe, a type of the genre that few bands manage to pull off without sounding too cheesy. It is clearly obvious that the group has taken some inspiration from fellow countrymen DragonForce, but hear this, they skipped out the parts where they are going fully bananas in the solos and go "Woah-oh-woah-oh" before the last chorus, and replaced them with actual song writing. Yep, it sounds a little too good to be true, but they did it.
To make this all come together, you need good musicians, and we certainly got some here. Vocalist Carlos Zema seems like he fits right in the genre, screaming with such power and confidence, making every note seem like it is a piece of cake to sing them. We also got a great balance between the blazing fast guitar and the complementary keyboards, and that is because Gabriel Guardiola handles both, creating a symbiosis that is beautiful to witness. Let us also not forget Cody Gilliland's hard hitting drumming style, and the vibrant bass attack of Thad Stevens, rounding out a more than solid performance.
All the members aside, it is still the songs that steal the show, with most of the 9 tracks taking full advantage of the attention. The choruses in this record are incredibly strong and very sing along friendly, certainly worthy of making a fool out of yourself by shouting. There is a lot of adrenaline in the music, but it is surprisingly controlled enough so that it does not get too silly or insane. It is just great song writing through and through, keeping a level of intensity that is addictive as hell, and also fun. Man, it is gonna be tough to pick one song from this record that is gonna make the best song of the year list. It is right now a dead race between all of the songs I will list in the bottom.
While I absolutely love this record, it is most certainly not a perfect debut. Some more variation could have been welcome (one slightly slower song ain't gonna cut it), and I really do not like that the band call themselves a "super" metal band, just way too cheesy for my taste. It does not matter that much though, because Immortal Guardian has unleashed an impressive debut that every lover of power metal cannot afford to miss. It has been quite some time since I found a band that had so much intensity and power to them, while also maintaining a sense of control. "Age of Revolution" may not be a full on revolution in metal music, but it puts a fresh take on the genre that is much needed. No bullshit, all power, total bliss.
Songs worthy of recognition: Never To Return, Aeolian, Stardust, Hunters, State of Emergency
Rating: 9/10 Zephons
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