Review Summary: To Battle, or in these guys’ language, "Batalhar"!
“Crom was angered, and the earth shook, and fire and wind struck down these giants, and they threw their bodies into the waters. But in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of steel, and left it on the battlefield…”
(Conan the Barbarian, 1982)
…and fortunately, Ravensire found the secret of steel which has been passed on by generations of warriors; from Manowar and Cirith Ungol, to Brocas Helm, Omen and Manilla Road. Through dense forests and on turbulent seas, the Portuguese act’s sophomore effort continues where their debut stopped. On
The Cycle Never Ends, one will find traditional heavy metal that dates somewhere between the dawn and mid ‘80s with a strong epic flavor.
The music is guitar driven with plenty of galloping, dual harmonies and lots of melody, whereas the lyrics are quite evocative and revolve around myths, epic stories, barbaric imagery and brave quests. It has to be noted, that Ravensire write not only fantasy-based tales but fuse them with real data and facts. For example, album opener “Cromlech Revelations” refers to stone circles similar to Stonehenge that are located at the Almendres Cromlech in Portugal. Similarly, “Crosshaven” describes a Viking settlement which was located in Ireland. Both songs are quite representative of the music that can be found on
The Cycle Never Ends with their NWOBHM tendencies similar to early Iron Maiden and riffs that bring to mind Running Wild. If one wants to make a modern comparison, it would be Visigoth or Ravensire’s countrymates, Ironsword.
Moreover, even though the aforementioned tracks along with “Trapped in Dreams” (another song that brings to mind early Iron Maiden) feature a moderate tempo, there are a couple of changes; namely, the uptempo “Solitary Vagrant” has a rather thrashy nature even though it has some slower parts, while “Procession of the Dead” is more doom-laden and quite reminiscent of Cirith Ungol. Here, it has to be noted that the band’s vocalist sounds like a cross between Rock ‘n’ Rolf (Running Wild), Paul Di’Anno (Iron Maiden) and Chris Boltendahl (Grave Digger). Nevertheless, a few listeners might find that his voice is a bit of an acquired taste.
Moving on, an interesting segment of the album is the last three tracks that form a trilogy, in the same manner as the “Something Wicked” one on Iced Earth’s 1998
Something Wicked This Way Comes. The “White Pillar Trilogy” is a 16 minute affair that even though, musically, is more or less similar to the rest of the material, probably includes the highlight of the album. More specifically, after the third minute of “Temple at the End of the World” the band pays homage to bands like Wishbone Ash, Pagan Altar and Ashbury with a very atmospheric part that includes a bluesy guitar solo.
Lastly, the LPs production is deliberately not too polished, in order for the outcome to sound more retro and barbaric. Overall, for those who are into epic metal,
The Cycle Never Ends is going to be a treat. With its fantastic cover art, the music and the lyrics, it succeeds in transporting the listener to a fictional world where valor, wits, battle skills and a finely crafted sword are all that matter.
