Dominus Praelii - Bastards & killers 3/5
Reviewed: 9-29-06
Tracklist:
1. Battle of Stanford bridge
2. Hasten's mistake
3. Lords of the sea
4. Sweat and ice
5. Berserkers
6. History of Erick, The Red
7. Raise your axe
8. To Vinland
9. Grinder
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Dominus Praelii is a Brazilian band playing aggressive power metal occasionally venturing into speed/thrash metal territory. Their debut CD 'Holding the flag of war' sings to the part of me that thrives on old-school metal. The CD features very fast, high octane power metal. Everything about it is very old-school, from the raw production to the simple, rough vocals of Ricardo Pigatto. The band I immediately thought of when I first heard Dominus Praelii was the underrated Not Fragile. Now their 2nd CD "Bastards & killers" is out.
The 2nd CD features a slightly upgraded production and has a little bit more variation in tempo between songs, not just consistently fast like the debut. Also, Pigatto's vocals and vocal melodies are much more dynamic here. I suppose that the objective critic in me would have to say that all of these changes are improvements, but I also sort of miss the rawer, simpler, more all-out speedy sound on the debut. One thing that both CDs have is some killer riffing. My favorite track is probably "Berserkers", which is a scorcher all the way though and features some very Running Wild like riffing. The CD also features a cover of Judas Priest's "Grinder", which is well done.
Dominus Praelii definitely provides no-frills power metal. There aren't any keyboards, or happy, bouncy melodies. The chorusues are generally of the "shout-a-long" variety rather than the beautiful bleatings of the operatic. The distinct lack of polish is part of the band's appeal and should please all fans of the rawer stylings in power metal.
JOHN
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