Helepolis

As if their age old empires were once again colliding against the threshold of history, Greeks have been a rising tide in traditional metal of late, or the varied strains therein. Metal on Metal Records has been wise to snap up a few of the brighter bulbs in the batch, namely the prog power/thrashers Heathendom and the even more impressive Wishdoom, who arrive in full force with one of the most epic and entertaining albums in the power/doom field that I've heard in some time. Don't get me wrong, Helepolis is not exactly a manifold of innovation of intricacy, it's just a massive slab of myths, history and fantasy being carried across a titan's backside as it propels all its vastness across the plains of antiquity.

Wishdoom's conceptual style might be comparable to the amazing Italians Doomsword, but they take a different path to arrive at the same destination. Instead of the humbled production values that recall Manilla Road, old Manowar and such, these Greeks occupy the enormous and bright, vaulted aesthetics of European power metal. Huge guitars, synthesizers and plodding, thunderous drums endow the compositions with a larger than life atmosphere that places you straight into a more glorious, mirror universe of the subject matter. Chris Paschalidis has a commanding, well executed tone that falls somewhere between James Rivera, Messiah Marcolin, Eric Adams, Michael Kiske and a slew of other influences, and the riffs take their sweet time to bludgeon you in all their leaden majesty, somewhere between Candlemass and HammerFall if that makes any sense.

Wishdoom covers a lot of the same lyrical terrains as one might expect, with tributes to Robert E. Howards Conan ("Cimmerian Plains - Son of Crom"), Moorcock's Elric saga ("Screaming Blade"), their native mythology ("Zeus the Thunderer") and historical battles (like the Greco-Persian war in "The Battle of Plataea"), but what else would fit such a large envelope of power? Most of the tracks are distinct and powerful, with favorites being the opening anthem "Helepolis", the steady marching of "My Wish Your Doom", and the swaggering monument that is "Guardians of Steel" which should draw forth the squealing, dreaming youth in all of us who used to play swords in his backyard, but neither do I scoff at the crushing course of "Screaming Blade" or the almost gladiatorial welcome of "Crystal World". For nearly an hour of playtime, the Greeks simply do not let you down, but instead drown you in their bright, glinting aspect.

That doesn't make Helepolis perfect, but it's damned fun if you shut down your expectations for anything intricate or even remotely clever. The band's talent lies not in the swordsmanship of its individual members, but how they steadily march as a phalanx and win the day. Battle metal of this nature can become so wistful and tiring these days, it's great to hear some actual enthusiasm placed into it. There are passages where the guitars could be improved, more memorable riffs and vocal lines asserted, perhaps the leads could be tweaked to arrive with more impact than those found here, but in all there is no reason a heavy/doom shouldn't enjoy himself here, that is if he doesn't mind such a bombastic, symphonic and polished mix as opposed to the 70s/80s style organics used by others in the style.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Wishdoom is a traditional/doom metal band from Greece, which is a country that is not known for a lot of heavy metal, other than the Hellenic black metal style groups such as Kawir, Rotting Christ, and Varathron. This is the band's debut full-length album after releasing a demo and an EP previously.

Wishdoom vacillates between traditional and doom metal with some songs showing influences from Candlemass, Cirith Ungol, and St. Vitus, and others more like Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, and the like. The one thing it all has in common is the epic feel. Wishdoom's lyrics deal a lot with battle and warfare and the music definitely has a glorious, victory-in-battle feel to it.

"The Battle of Platea" is the song that most impressed me upon initial listens. It has a doomy, power-chord driven riff that sounds like a march into battle. "Up the Hammers" builds throughout the length of the song into an impressive climax. The final, eponymous track also sticks out due to its uncharacteristic, piano-driven introduction.

The band does fall into some of the cliches that have marked this style of metal. The battle and fantasy lyrics are done to death at times, and the sweeping instrumentation can be a little overbearing. Some of the melodies start to sound the same after awhile as well. Nonetheless, the band shows some real promise. Their musicianship is incredible and the vocals are a real strength. The songs are catchy and enjoyable, and the album as a whole is powerful and uplifting.

This is a fairly standard release for this style of metal. It does not really offer anything new, but the musical abilities of the members is readily apparent. It is a competent and impressive debut from a band with a lot of talent. But there definitely remains room to grow and improve.