Staff picks

Megaton Sword had the hard task to follow an epic heavy metal album that defined the genre in modern times (Blood Hails Steel - Steel Hails Fire), and they succeeded in releasing something even grander and more ambitious. The band mixes hard rocking catchiness, Manowar-esque epicness, and Manilla Road-like melodicism to create music that is very much their own. It is admirable how this sounds at the same time classic and fresh, without being trapped in either trying to be retro or over-modernizing a style that is meant to be ageless. The vocals of Uzzy Unchained are an alternate version of Cirith Ungol’s Tim Baker, and Megaton Sword are courageous enough to close an album titled Might & Power with a ballad named “Babe Eternal”. And damn, it just rules.