“Bring me their heads! Set loose the war dogs! Blood will flow by the powers that be. . .”
We’re not even two minutes into the title track of The Powers That Be, and already we are beckoned forth with an epic battle cry. If you can’t feel the call, I suggest you crank up your volume. If that weren’t enough to stir you, very well, go live in your mediocrity. Heads will remain on shoulders; the dogs will mope around in their kennels, and the only thing flowing will be your inner barbarian’s tears as you sit back down to your 9-5 office job.

‘Waiting to Drown’ slows down the pace rather nicely, but with enough feel to bang your head to. And just like that, ‘Lost In The Waves’ brings us right back to battle, unless you’re still at the office, in which case the only battle you face is your inner barbarian howling to be unleashed on those blasted spreadsheets. A song indeed, bringing me back to the good ol’ days of yore, when the gods of war, MANOWAR ruled the thunder-streaked skies, the lava scorched lands and the blackened deeps, which, coincidentally, when you look into those deeps you will get “lost in the waves” too.

Back-to-back, we get fine headbanging riffs from the tracks ‘When The World Was Mine’ and ‘Freedom’. If one doesn’t find oneself banging or at least nodding one’s head, I suggest a swift dose of Red Bull and Jaeger. “. . .Is your back against the wall? No! No! Have our spirits been defeated? No! No! Stand together one and all / Our battle call is Freedom. . .” What fine lyrics to listen to on Independence Day! As we all know, without the aid of metal there would be no true Independence Day celebration, after all. What can possibly be more metal than sticking it to the Brits?

‘Dying Sun’ motions for us to sit by the fire and listen to the recounting of battles long fought, of glory long since won before the embers of the dying sun. Again, the solo does not let us down, guided down the fretboard to where the spider awaits, plucking on his strings of blackened silks. And so, then we come to it, ‘I Can Hear Them’. As the moon slips behind the horizon, you realize that no sun is coming. It already died. But worry not, for can you not hear them too? A great track to end on, tying everything up nicely and presenting it to the funeral pyre.

Final thoughts: A pleasant surprise, something I’d quite happily throw on while firing up the grill or assembling my tabletop hordes. Good riffs, good vocals. I recommend. Never had I heard this band before but will be checking them out in future.
Review By: Druwedd

PHARAOH
The Powers That Be
Cruz Del Sur Music
3.5 / 6