Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Majesty - Reign In Glory 2003 Massacre Records reviewed by: EC

Track Listing1. Heavy Metal Battlecry 2. Into The Stadiums 3. Reign In Glory 4. Will Of The Cobra 5. Defender Of The Brave 6. Lord Of The Damned 7. Heroes 8. Thunder In The Silence 9. Troopers Of Steel" 10. Falcon In The Storm 11. Battle Hymn" Bonus Track

Okay, I'm a sucker. Just call me crazy. I love these guys. Yeah, I know, I know. Majesty is a poor man's Manowar. I absolutely adore Majesty's last album, "Sword & Sorcery", with its simplistic form of metal expression. Simple one groove riffs, and a singer that borrows heavily from Eric Adams. But I felt "Sword & Sorcery" was like a good fantasy novel. Easily understood, very atmospheric, and extremely well told with its descriptive stories of bloodshed on the battlefield. It worked for me, I was feeling it.

In early 2003 it was announced that former Vanize guitarist Rolf Munkes had joined Majesty. I really enjoyed Munkes on the Vanize material, with his groovy, heavy styled hard rock riffs and almost inspirational leadership for bands. The guy has attitude, and a mean streak for playing loud guitar. The combination of Majesty and Munkes is one of puzzlement however. I felt that "Sword & Sorcery" was different and refreshing because it didn't ROCK like other German acts. In fact Majesty never rocked, nor did they get along at blistering pace, instead they simply played smooth, calculated rythmns that were well thought out, as if creating a battlefield enviroment, completely building up to a violent crescendo by simply marching to the front instead of charging. I like that in a band sometimes, and it worked well with Majesty. Munkes' style of playing is the exact opposite, with in your face speed chargers being his sole weapon of choice. So how did the combo do? Well...

Opener "Heavy Metal Battlecry" is a damn firestorm, blazing by at light speed, with Munkes blistering the strings in madman fashion. Completely over the top, like Manowar on the proverbial steroids. The great thing is with the opener, they still have the sing-along chorus that I loved from the last album. This is just total attitude, mean and ravaging and still managing to be a well oiled, well placed metal machine that sounds very polished and crisp. "Into The Stadiums" follows like really good Scorpions, with cheesy, "metal is our life" lyrics. Ya gotta love it!

Tracks like "Lord Of The Damned" beg to be cranked high, fists in the air, fighting the world in grand metal fashion. The same can be said for face smashers like "Troopers Of Steel" and "Defender Of The Brave". The band even stops for the appropriate Manowar styled ballads "Thunder In The Silence" and "Falcon In The Storm".

Majesty just simply rule with class, talent, and metal passion. Few bands can play this style of music; the cheesy power anthems of the world. Majesty do it and do it well. "Reign In Glory" is every bit as good as "Sword & Sorcery", and find the band well on its way to becoming the next Manowar. Now if they can just work on getting those global groupies...


--EC 05.06.04