Mystic Prophecy – War Brigade (Album Review)

Hard rock music has had a rough few months. From the passing of Lemmy to the recent changes with AC/DC and Brian Johnson (speculation on what happened is a topic for another day), many are wondering who will keep rock and metal alive. To those people, I say check out the newest offering from Mystic Prophecy – War Brigade!

This CD was my first intro to this power metal band out of Germany. One listen and I felt way more optimistic about the future of rock. I’ve seen them compared to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Accept, Queensryche and Iced Earth. I can hear hints of each, but with a sound and style of their own.

The first thing that stood out to me was the double bass action of the drums from Tristan Maiwurm. Then the heavy riffs and searing guitar solos from Markus Pohl and Laki Ragazas. To top that off, R.D. Liapakis’s vocals are stellar with just the right amount of grit and heavy metal passion. If there’s one slight critique, it’s that they could turn up Joey Roxx’s bass quite a bit. It gets lost in the drums and guitar.

With War Brigade, Mystic Prophecy delivers 12 solid, heart-pounding, head-banging songs. They blast off the CD with the melodic “Follow the Blind.” This leads into “Metal Brigade,” a song laced with lyrics that are a tribute to some of the best metal albums and songs. Just as you’re rocking out to these two, they go even heavier with “Burning Out,” “Crucifix” and “The Devil is Back.”

If you’re looking for a solid metal CD with killer riffs and vocals, War Brigade delivers. This CD is already on my list of best hard rock/heavy metal CDs for 2016. Take a listen and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Buy: Mystic Prophecy – War Brigade