Search - Twisted Tower Dire :: Crest of the Martyrs

The Something I have been missing in metal since Iron Maiden

Kman6 | Land of Milk & Honey | 06/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Crest of the Martyrs in many ways brought back the fervor I once felt for metal. The guitars pound away with both the gallop and a melody. It's not ultra distorted and short. These guys can really play their instruments and show it repeatedly. The lead singer actually sings. He hasn't fallen victim to the prevailing winds of distorting the vocals into some sort of barely decipherable noise. And when he bangs out the high notes, he hits them and hold them. What can I say, these things work for me. Ever since I got this disc as a gift from a friend, it has been consistently in rotation virtually every day.



From the get go on "At Night", I get sucked into the devilishly rich fantasy realm they are painting and stay there all the way to "Fight to Be Free". After that the songs start to feel a little repetitive. Not that that's a real bad thing for these guys, but I've never really joined in with the idea that metal is extra fun when you start out with a balladesque beginning like you are going to go all Poison's "Every Rose Has A Thorn" and then morph into the rockers you really are. I don't care about sensitivity with my metal. They can be two mutually exclusive terms as far as I'm concerned.



The only other thing that slightly puts me off is that this really is fantasy metal straight from middle earth which can be fun up to a point, but rocking to the wizards and their fantastical realm can be a little too much at times.



No matter what the negatives are this is a phenominal album and these guys deserve much more attention and accolades than they are getting. It shows a stylish growth from their last album "Isle of Hydra" and leaves me anxiously awaiting the next."

A return to the old school metal that Maiden and Priest used

Hellion Zephreid | Pittsburgh | 02/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let's face it, Iron maiden 2006 are a much different band than say 1985. When Brave New World was going to be released, everyone in the metal world were crossing their fingers for something like Number of the Beast or Killers due to the reunion with Smith and Dickinson. Well we all know they have not been able to recapture the magic of the band and songs that they were in the 1980's. Now we accept Maiden as a shadow of their former selves. Too Bad.

Fast forward to the 2000's. Bands like Steel Prophet, Cage, Hammerfall, Jacob's Dream and now Twisted Tower Dire are bringing back the style of metal that went out of fashion a decade or so ago. Guitar solos are back, catchy singalongs, and actual singing instead of the death growls that have been shoved at us as actual vocals for a long time. The drumming sets the pace and the guitarists just go wild. The vocalist doesn't have the Air raid siren range of young Dickenson but that is a good thing. His range is very wide but doesn't sound like he is grabbing his 'nads to hit a high note. Very enjoyable. This band would have been huge in the day of the Headbanger's Ball but that doesn't mean that this band sounds dated at all. It is actually the opposite, thanks to production of Pete from Iron Savior who used to work on those early Blind Guardian and Gamma Ray recordings. There is not one particular track that stands out on this just kind of one track equalling the next, the listener not quite ready to believe what he is hearing, 100% quality heavy metal like in the classic days. It is very hard to find something this good that is actually new and not some reissue of an album two decades old. I am in heaven. CHECK IT OUT NOW!

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