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Massacre Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 17.06.2020 | Released: 26.06.2020
The history of Goblins Blade is a short one. The band was created by German guitarist and heavy metal veteran Jörg M. Knittel, known for his past work with Sacred Steel, but also his own bands awn Of Winter and My Darkest Hate. Gathering players from other German metal bands, such as Mystic Prophecy, Chinchilla, and Destillery, Goblins Blade dropped an EP, Awakening in 2019. Signing then to Massacre Records, the band arrives with their debut long-player, Of Angels And Snakes, which includes two songs from the EP, Final Fall and Call For Unity.
Whereas Knittel has been exploring doom and death metal in the last several years, Goblins Blade finds the guitarist returning to his heavy power metal roots. Essentially, a Goblins Blade song features three things: a twin guitar riff attack, mucho gallop and groove from the rhythm section, and Knittel's fierce and soaring guitar solos. Most songs feature a sharp guitar start over some pummeling and powerful bass and drum lines before dropping into a brisk pace, yet often mixed with moderate tempos. (No, that does not make it prog.) You'll hear this with Blink Of An Eye, Utopia, Final Fall, and Call For Unity with its furious drum rhythm. Alternatively, with When The Night Follows The Dawn, Goblins Blade doubles down on the steady metal. The song has a wall of riffage, but a pacing that might near epic doom metal (without sounding like doom metal). The wild card for me was vocalist Florian Reimann. While having a melodic and clean style, I thought it uninteresting, perhaps even flat at times. But that's just my ears. In the end, I found Goblins Blade and Of Angels And Snakes to offer consistent, though hardly novel, guitar forward heavy power metal. Check out the video, and support the band.
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I found Goblins Blade and Of Angels And Snakes to offer consistent, though hardly novel, guitar forward heavy power metal. Check out the video, and support the band.
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