The first time I saw the track list, I was surprised because it was quite a lot for a studio album. However, after I checked deeper, it turned out that some of the songs did have a short duration. Those of us who like BLIND GUARDIAN‘s album “Nightfall In Middle-Earth” might not feel weird about the composition of the songs on this album. And indeed, this album is a concept album where not only power metal and thrash typical songs, but also packed with several interludes in each song to complete the concept in this album so that the result is a fresh, virtuoso and masterpiece.
SCULFORGE is a power speed metal band from Germany which was formed in 2020, at that time when the pandemic was hitting, then vocalist and guitarist Polly McSculwood and guitarist Fabz McBlackscul came up with the idea to create a new adventure in music. With the debut album “Intergalactic Battle Tunes” which is scheduled to be released on June 23, 2023 by MDD Records, this is the result of his passion for all things sci-fi and fantasy RPGs, PC games, and literature, it quickly became clear that he wanted to create fictional stories. epic sci-fi that was -probably- slightly influenced by Warhammer 40k. A world where nothing progresses except on the battlefield is to him the perfect place for high-speed power metal hits!
Each song on this album begins with a short song which is nothing but a narrative or interlude as an introduction and connecting the story from song to song.
The debut album that carries stories about the battle between galaxies, the dark side of the moon to the Milky Way wrapped in power metal music at full speed, voices that support the euphoria of space and narration and dialogue that tell the concept of the story in this album itself, here I am I remember the song “Skyfall” by the German power metal band HELLOWEEN or also the songs by the British band GLORYHAMMER and the former vocalist’s band ANGUSMCSIX.
With fast and catchy melodies with vocalist Polly McSculwood‘s hoarse and high voice that makes their music feel manly and powerful. Some moments in their songs feel fast like DRAGONFORCE with hoarse vocals like Kai Hansen (HELLOWEEN, GAMMA RAY) or Carlos Escudero (VHÄLDEMAR) with catchy and heroic refs that will raise adrenaline, optimism and enthusiasm to the top highest.
Songs that are enough to grab more attention and which are able to arouse my adrenaline include “Lost In The Warp“, “For The Omnisavior“, “The Sovereign Protects“, “Extermination”, “A New Hope”, “Glorious“, “Kings Of The Battlefield”, “Sculforge Inn”.
Overall, SCULFORGE with their debut album “Intergalactic Battle Tunes” is a fresh masterpiece with stories of intergalactic battles and is packaged in a concept album complete with narration and interludes so that it will bring its fans along with the atmosphere and storyline they carry. By combining the concept of a high-level story wrapped in melodic power speed metal music that is able to raise adrenaline and enthusiasm to the highest peak, this album deserves to be included in the ranks of favorite bands for fans of bands like HELLOWEEN, GAMMA RAY, BLIND GUARDIAN, DRAGONFORCE, IRON SAVIOR, GLORYHAMMER, ANGUSMCSIX or VHÄLDEMAR.
Line-Up
Polly McSculwood – Vocals & Guitar
Fabz McBlackscul – Guitar
Ariz Guinto – Bass
Chris Merzinsky – Drums & Piano
Tracklist:
01. Into The Never
02. Lost In The Warp
03. Forbidden Knowledge
04. For The Omnisavior
05. For Honor
06. Spacehull
07. Lost And Found
08. Dark Ruins
09. The Sovereign Protects
10. Secrets Unlocked
11. Slave To The Machine
12. The Extraction
13. Extermination
14. A New Hope
15. Castilla Stands
16. Glorious
17. Schwanengesang
18. The Escape
19. Epitaph
20. Kings Of The Battlefield
21. Reign Of Chaos
22. Follow Me
23. Into The Depths
24. Heart Of Darkness
25. The Sculforge Inn Incident
26. Sculforge Inn
Score:
Music : 9
Production: 8
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sculforgeofficial
