A very pleasant surprise indeed.

Another day, another power metal album from distant lands, with the metal being supplied by Majesty Of Revival who hail all the way from the Ukraine. It’s not a country known for this sort of thing, so it’s quite a surprise to receive an album so competently done, with Majesty Of Revival (daft name) throwing their hat (probably a furry one) confidently into the power metal ring.

Although at heart a straightforward power metal act with the requisite high register vocals and fierce melodies, Majesty Of Revival do try and shake things up a bit with some delightful sub classical guitar flourishes, with Dmitriy Pavlovskiy coming off a bit Malmsteen-y at times, but in the best possible way. This is counterbalanced by some sterling keyboard work from Marat Adiev, and to be honest there is something to keep the listener interested in every track, and that includes guitar nerds as there is some simply stunning work throughout, particularly on the instrumental ‘Masked Illusion’, which is, at four minutes, way too short.

Although inspirations are easy enough to spot, I was heartened to hear a totally original sound within ‘Through Reality’. It’s an easy album to listen to on the surface, and gets bonus points for having more depth than most power metal albums even hint at. The vocals are good for this sort of music, although nothing special, but as a package Majesty Of Revival should go down a storm with anyone who likes their power metal to have that little bit extra.

A very pleasant surprise indeed.

Alan Holloway