Claymore (The) - Sygn 4/5
Reviewed: 1-23-09
Tracklist:
1. The angel's assassination
2. Slaine the almighty
3. Guardian of time
4. Borderline
5. Eternal glory
6. Sygn
7. Soulseeker
8. 27 years
9. Dawn on the road
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The Claymore is a German band that formed in 2000, released some demos, then released their near outstanding debut 'Monuments' in 2005, and now they bring us their 2nd CD 'Sygn'. Their style has remained the same over the years, that being classy melodic heavy/power metal, and though they really don't offer up anything original with 'Sygn' (or their debut), what they do provide with this CD is very well done.
The Claymore is fronted by the fantastic Andreas Grundmann, whose clear voice has a lot of range and he comes off as a blend of Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson. The band is keyboardless, and they instead rely on 2 guitarists (Sebastian Busacker and Kai Schwittek) to impress us. They definitely do so, as the guitar work is excellent throughout and with Andreas' vocals being of such high quality, the band as a whole is quite strong and 'Sygn' is very far away from being average.
For overall comparisons, The Claymore sits between the melodic/heavy metal style of Machine Men, Bruce Dickinson, Mindguard, Dream Master and Circle II Circle, and the melodic power metal style of Burning Point, Inner Wish, Crimsonfire, Black Majesty, Inner Visions, Excalion and Ghost Machinery, but because the band is without keys, Destynation and Dawn of Silence also come to mind. 'Sygn' is easily competitive with the CDs from these many bands too, as the entire CD is at a consistently high level, though I must admit that there isn't one particular song that seems to stand above the rest.
So we end up with a band that has gradually improved their sound over the years and even though 'Sygn' is only their 2nd CD, it's the mark of the band's best output so far and proves that they're a band to watch out for. It certainly helps them to belong in such a popular style too (as evident by the long list of band comparisons), so this CD really should be a success and I definitely can label it highly recommended.
CLINT
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