Black Majesty
Tomorrowland Limb Music

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Comments: Australia is loudly becoming a force in the music industry, as if you didn’t know. They have bragging rights to one of the best mainstream rock bands to hit the airwaves in years, Sick Puppies, and their metal scene is cultivating up and coming power/progressive talents like Crimsonfire. But for now, Black Majesty is among the most talented bands to be reckoned with from Down Under, and their new CD, Tomorrowland, is fist-pumping proof.

Black Majesty’s third release should be the CD to launch them into the upper echelons of the industry. They’ve obviously learned a thing or 12 from touring with Dragonforce, because Tomorrowland is all blazing guitar riffs and leads, stunning drumming, and Black Majesty also brandishes one of the best vocal talents in all of Power Metal, with John Cavaliere. From the second the first notes smash into your ears, you’ll be hooked.

Tomorrowland opens with “Forever Damned,” a furious, breakneck composition. Listening to drummer Pavel Konvalinka makes you wonder if he downs a 12-pack of Red Bull each show; if he ain’t hopped up on something, how can he keep up this pace? The keys from Hanny Mohamed (who also plays guitar) float inside the background of the track, giving it melodic substance, and Cavaliere instantly makes you understand why he is garnering acclaim as a singer. This kind of Metal always makes room for a searing guitar solo, and Stevie Janevski builds his riffs into a manic and blazing solo, not quite as fast as a Dragonforce solo but with more feel.

“Into the Black” is a song of the same ilk, at the onset, but then slows down to a mid-tempo track. This allows Cavaliere to use his lower range, and builds the song up to the chorus. You might hear bits of Pagan’s Mind at times, but that’s only because the musicianship is top-notch.

“Evil in Your Eyes” sounds like an Iced Earth anthem, with a triumphant guitar lead-in. At times, Black Majesty goes back and forth between Classic, Power and Progressive Metal, which just means you can’t paint them into a corner. Cavaliere adds an edge to his voice during the verses, singing with menace, but the chorus is fairly sing-song, meaning, listen and try to sing along. You keep waiting for him to hit the stratosphere with his ability to nail high screams, but he’s fairly toned down and in control thus far.

At track 5, they cover Deep Purple’s “Soldier of Fortune.” It’s good, but unnecessary.

What’s not unnecessary is “Bleeding World,” a complex and intricate composition. There is a minute of instrumentation before the vocals kick in, when you get to the chorus, Cavaliere’s pipes are on full display. It’s impressive hearing the odd timed rhythms change from verse to chorus – it’s not all one beat. The guitar solo here IS as fast as something Dragonforce would record. These guys are all ridiculous musicians.

Check out the drumming again on “Wings to Fly.” The fills are purely explosions, but they make sense in the context of the song. This is one of the more average songs on Tomorrowland, merely because it sounds like you’ve heard it before.

Even the last two tracks, “Another Dawn” and “Scars,” impress. You’d have to search high and low to be critical of Tomorrowland, and no one would agree with you anyway.

Black Majesty has released something they should be proud of, and something you should pick up immediately.

Band members:
John Cavaliere - vocals
Stevie Janevski - guitars
Hanny Mohamed - guitars and keyboards
Pavel Konvalinka - drums

Track listing:
Forever Damned
Into the Black
Evil in Your Eyes
Tomorrowland
Soldier of Fortune
Bleeding World
Faces of War
Wings to Fly
Another Dawn
Scars

HRH rating: 7.8/10