Legacy of Atlantean Kings

Cauldron Born’s first album in nearly two decades is a particularly fascinating comeback for the American power metal veterans. Legacy Of Atlantean Kings is not only their first full-length since 2002’s …And Rome Shall Fall but also features the exact same songs re-recorded in a completely different track listing to showcase the talents of their latest lineup. It’s an unusual move that inevitably invites comparisons between the two releases, but one that also provides an interesting case study of how the band has held up after all this time.

Listening to the two releases back-to-back, that nineteen-year gap certainly paid off in terms of the production and musicianship. The drums benefit the most from a more modern production job as a fuller sound makes the beats a whole lot more aggressive as opposed to the rather tinny approach before. The guitar tone is also much beefier but never loses sight of that more polished sheen derived from their eighties metal inspiration. New vocalist Matthew Knight also puts in a strong performance, echoing the same Geoff Tate-esque falsettos of the band’s other singers with a little extra grit that may put him a little closer to Todd La Torre’s playbook.

The band’s penchant for intricate yet anthemic song structuring also remains intact. The compositions are largely unaltered and even with a shuffled track order, their inherent emphasis on uniformly fast guitar work and over the top vocal lines keeps things consistent. The opening ‘Bloodbath In The Arena’ immediately establishes the tone and ‘Storming The Castle’ follows it up quite nicely, the drum solo toward the end having much more impact thanks to the upgrades. Elsewhere, ‘Finder Of The Black Stone’ puts in one of the most anthemic choruses while ‘…And Rome Shall Fall’ and the closing ‘By This Axe I Rule’ make for the album’s most effective epic metal songs, even if the former lose its title track status.

Whether you’re already a longtime Cauldron Born fan or just discovering them for the first time, Legacy of Atlantean Kings is an exhilarating USPM display. The band already had a unique style back in the day somewhat held back by the production standards of the time and seeing these old songs with a fresh coat of paint only makes them stronger. One can only hope they’re able to follow this up with equally potent new material. But considering how the number of successfully re-recorded albums can only be counted on one hand, this is a victory worth savoring.