Legacy of Atlantean Kings

Though Legacy of Atlantean Kings shares all the same songs as the band's 2002 sophomore effort, ...And Rome Shall Fall, it would be unfair to view this as merely a copy of that album, or worse, a cash-grabby rerecording along the lines of something like Manowar's rerecording of Battle Hymns. It is an update to the original album in some ways, but in others it's more of a way to free the strong songwriting always present in < ...And Rome Shall Fall from a production that was plagued with various problems, primarily clicky drums, an overall plastic tinge to everything, and in some cases perhaps just budget constraints preventing some of the more ambitious vocal lines and effects present on the versions in Legacy of Atlantean Kings (though whether that was in fact due to budget constraints or simply a reworking of the material for the newer album I'm not sure). The original singer, David Loudon, while competent and fairly enjoyable, did also become hard to understand when he went into his higher register, and while new vocalist Matthew Knight is not without his own issues, after several listens I do feel he's overall an improvement over Loudon.

Another change from the original album is the track listing, which is almost completely inverted (the first three songs from < ...And Rome are the last three here, though the rest of the tracks are jumbled a bit), and while I never really had much problem with the track listing on the original, I do feel that the pacing here is improved, as tracks 4-6 in the original were very similar overall and did make the album feel a bit piecemeal, rather than alternating things more stylistically to allow each composition to breathe a bit more, which works well here. This is a minor complaint, of course, though I still feel "People of the Dark Circle" was a great ender and should have remained the final track.

So let's talk a bit about what I like and dislike about Matt Knight. As a vocalist he's full of energy, clear, and able to match the tone of each song, making him a top-notch vocalist, with the one exception of his tendency to get a bit too over the top at times. Some of the very high shrieks he does sound screechy and grating to me, and could be toned down or perhaps used more sparsely at least. Otherwise, he's excellent, and does fall above Loudon as I mentioned previously, though he still falls below the vocalist on Cauldron Born's first album, Danny White, who is one of my favorite vocalists of all time (and I still find it a shame he never appeared on any other albums, from Cauldron Born or any other band).

Anyway, like I said, the compositions are strong, as anyone who's familiar with the original album is likely aware, and with a strong guitar tone, a very strong production overall that makes things sound meaty yet perfectly audible at all times, this album really gets a chance to shine. For those who are a fan of the album, you'll almost certainly enjoy this version even more. For those who are fans of Cauldron Born but unfamiliar with the original, this is certainly a must-have, though I don't think it outclasses the original in every way, so it's still worth tracking down as well. For those whom this is their first encounter with Cauldron Born, I'll ask the question - do you enjoy unique, noodly and obtuse, yet still very aggressive, galloping US power metal, with tons of energy and overall a fairly dark tone? If so, I can't recommend this enough, though I'd still recommend listening to the first Cauldron Born album, Born of the Cauldron, first, as it has always been and remains the quintessential Cauldron Born/Howie Bentley (mastermind behind the band) release, and though I doubt anything he does will ever top it, this certainly manages to come pretty close. Howie, thank you for this update to < ...And Rome Shall Fall, and I hope for totally new Cauldron Born material somewhere in the near future!