Customer Reviews

Sands of Time

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As progressive metal continues to make its way into the emerging music industry, many talented artists are making the scene. Black Majesty just so happens to do just that. With their first studio release "Sands of Time", they definetly have a future.

I had only seen an ad for the CD, so it took curiousity for me to buy it. I didnt know what to expect, but it definetly took me by suprise. The guitar-work as well as the keyboard-work is very unique as it touchs Iron Maiden but in a very, new style.

You can really tell how bands like Iron Maiden and Dio influenced metal. "Beyond Reality" and "Guardian" are my favorite tracks, at no point did they dissapoint me, but instead kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for more. "Lady of the Lake" brings out the soft side of the Australian group when it introduces the beauty of keyboards & light guitars.

You should definetly pick this CD up, you will not be dissapointed.. as long as you love rock :P

This cd was excellent. Perfect for when you just want to relax with some good powermetal. Black Majesty has taken place in my collection along side of hammerfall, nightwish, and Ozzy. I strongly recommend metal fans purchase this. You will not regret it.

I really dig this cd now after I've given it a few spins. At first spin I wasn't all that impressed or I should say it really didn't knock me out. I thought it was ok, but nothing really earth shattering. However as I've given it a few more goes in the ol' cd player it has grown on me. It's one of those cd's that take a few listens to truly appreciate all that's going on. In the end I'm impressed enough to say don't be affraid to check it out as it's prog metal heaven.

Great debut album from downunder. This is fantastic melodic metal that is heavy. A huge highlight in this band is their singer. He deals out the most fantastic vocals that will blow your mind. Of course with a melodic band you expect the instruments to be out-of-this-world, and they are. Do yourself a favor and don't ignore these guys any longer. No dissapointments with these guys, a must have.

Black Majesty, from Melbourne Australia are one of the few Australian entries into the power metal genre, with a good dose of traditional metal thrown in to spice up the brew. With a fairly typical animated cover, a good production job given the presumably limited budget and with a bit of a push, this album saw the Black Majesty machine get off the ground.

The main points here are the solid songs, few are truly weak though a bunch do somewhat fade into the background. Personal fave raves would include Fall of the Reich, Guardian and Journeys End though to see the prog elements of this band your best bet is Beyond Reality. Overall the guitar work is quite good and the vocals of John Cavaliere are another stand out point. I've seen him live doing a great job on Judas Priest covers (even if he did make a self deprecating joke about needing a wheelchair afterwards given he was 32 years old), and on this album he does himself proud as he has one of those higher end voices that stays solid enough not to be grating in the way the REALLY high end chaps can be.

Guest slots abound though the main one of interest for most would be Silvio Massaro of Vanishing Point, another of Australias more successful power metal groups of the 00's. Nothing earth shattering on this disc - and I say that as someone who went to the CD launch gig. But it's a solid start and given how geographically isolated this bunch was from power metal central over in Europe this is an effort of which they can be proud.

2003's Sands of Time is the debut album from Australian power metal band Black Majesty. I was actually a bit hesitant to pick this one up, having been burned a few too many times by some of the generic, b-grade power metal on the LMP label, but a buddy suggested I check the band out, so I gave in. It didn't hurt that Vanishing Point vocalist Silvio Massaro (one of my favorite bands and singers) makes a guest appearance on Sands of Time.

Black Majesty, at least with this album, strikes me as roughly 75% Stratovarius and 25% Hammerfall. They have that clinical, technical vibe but with a soaring melodic quality that makes you want to raise your fist and sing along. The band makes good use of soaring melodies, speedy riffing, and lots of keyboards, and the vocals are very strong. One minor gripe is that there isn't a lot of variation in the songs on Sands of Time, so they tend to run together at times. The songs are all good, but none really stand out in particular.

It never quite makes the leap to greatness, but Sands of Time is definitely a very solid power metal album from a band that would get even better on later releases. Fans of Stratovarius, Pagan's Mind, Circus Maximus and of course Vanishing Point will definitely want to check out Black Majesty.

i'd heard a lot of promising stuff from Black Majesty so i was very keen on searching out the debut sands of time. And boy it is a great album. songs like the opener fall of the reich bring me back to the time when Queensryche were writing quality metal whilst the song guardian is one of the best epic metal songs of the past few years. some standout vocals from john C and his cousin danny C (who used to be the singer of pegazus i believe) provide the highlight. talk about vocal range! other personal faves are legacy which is a real straight ahead power number and the title track sands of time. beyond reality and colliding worlds show off the bands mega double kick drummer and the guitars demonstrate their progressive influences along the lines of fates warning.
a very impressive debut! an album which should be searched out by fans of classic Iron Maiden, Judas priest, Queensryche, and Helloween. Bring on album number 2.