review: Sacred Outcry -- prog power from Greece

Sacred Outcry

Damned For All Time

No Remorse Records

25.09.2020

After some 90 seconds of intro the first song kicks off with “Legend of the Fallen”: majes-tic heroic heavy metal that gallops to glory with gigantic melodies, good singing, air raid siren, and a super catchy chorus. This song is the type that German fans of power and heavy metal welcome with wide open arms and embrace as perfection during those open air festivals. The next two songs, unlike the slow burner heroic pace of the first song, summon a faster tempo of symphonic heavy metal. Fans of epic heavy metal, traditional heavy metal, and power metal should be pleased so far.

It turns out that things change a lot after the above songs, and the album takes a turn towards prog metal, and listeners need to be prepared for the change. It all starts with a soft ballad (#5) that slows down the momentum. The ballad is followed by a rocker, and the rocker by a midtempo prog number. It is all done well because they have the skills and the production team to make it sound good. The potential problem is that the band has changed genres! Then, the title track arrives and it is a long prog power track (some 14 and a half minutes). This song is for the fans of prog, like the fans that tru-ly enjoy the plodding prog of Iron Maiden as elderly gentlemen or the meandering slower sounds of Manowar as senior citizens. The last song is a return to the energy of the first few songs.

The audiences that prefer more metal than prog may find that this album leans a bit too much towards prog, while audiences that have a passion for prog-leaning tradi-tional heavy metal might just find that this is a very good balance of prog with heavy metal. A skillfully done album.

TRACKLIST

1. Timeless (1:29)

2. Legion Of The Fallen (5:39)

3. Sacred Outcry (4:16)

4. Where Ancient Gods Are Still Hailed (5:52)

5. Scared To Cry (3:25)

6. Lonely Man (5:55)

7. Crystal Tears (6:26)

8. Damned For All Time (14:30)

9. Farewell (7:33)

Damned For All Time by Sacred Outcry

https://www.facebook.com/SacredOutcry