Gloryhammer – Angus McFife

Christopher Bowes, the frontman of the pirate metal band Alestorm, is making new music with his side project Gloryhammer. The band plays very honest and epic power metal, and Bowes himself can be found behind the keyboards this time.

Their first album, Tales from the Kingdom of Fife, is to be released on March 29th. It is a concept album with a story set in medieval Scotland with fantasy elements – well, yes, such classic power metal themes as dragons, battles, wizards and magic. Since such stories need an epic hero, Angus McFife is wielding his weapons in the name of glory.

And the first video, Angus McFife, is quite promising. In spite of being a fan of Alestorm, I hadn't really been looking forward to Gloryhammer's releases – mostly because I had forgotten to pay enough attention. Well, Gloryhammer is an entirely different project anyway, but it seems that Chris Bowes has a lot more to give to the metal scene than just piratey folk and power metal. Gloryhammer is symphonic and impressive – and certainly gave a good first impression! Thomas Winkler is also singing like a siren and contributing quite a lot of power to metal in this act, being a very fine choice for a vocalist.

While some can probably find the lyrical themes quite cheesy and comical, the song is still particularly catchy! And the video – it's not too comical or ridiculous, it's actually warm (and I am not only referring to the color scheme with a yellowish sky) and cosy – something you should see for yourself.

Orden Ogan: Masks

Orden Ogan are at it again with a brand new music video titled Masks, which is actually a bonus track on the limited edition of the latest album To the End. We also have a review of the album lined up and it should hopefully be coming sometime in not too distant future! Suffice it to say if you are a fan of German power metal, To the End is one of the better releases in the genre this year.

As usual per Orden Ogan's style, effort has been put into the visuals and the theme, and once again it's not your traditional "we are a metal band playing metal music in an abandoned metal factory" (hi Spinefarm) video.

Like the song title, Masks, the video is also based on a story revolving around the mask concept: A theater actress discovers a mask and puts it on, after which creepy things start happening and insanity ensues. Towards the end of the video things get really anxious in a horror flick like way. The video actually reminds me of the movie Black Swan in some ways.

Personally I do wonder why the track has been listed as a bonus track, as it really is good enough to be on the regular album. Enough of my babble however, enjoy the song and video!

Orden Ogan: The Things We Believe In

I'm not an avid music video fan to begin with: while some of them are truly interesting and worth watching, most of them are simply too boring to appeal to me. I am rarely excited about new music video releases, but I encountered an exception on Monday: Orden Ogan released a video to their new single The Things We Believe In off of their new album which is to see the light at the end of October (or should I say, to see the darkness). Well, at least yours truly has been looking forward to the said album!

And yes, on Monday I found myself truly excited to see a new music video. Orden Ogan's We Are Pirates is probably the best music video I know – well yes, I am slightly biased because of pirates, but it is really interesting in its own right. Since the song is relatively long, the video is almost like a short movie with a lot of fascinating events. Now that Orden Ogan released something new, I didn't expect the theme to be so dear to me anymore, but I was looking forward to seeing another good quality music video anyway.

My first impression in brief: snow, ice, cold. Homeless people, miserable people, people in serious trouble. Musicians resurrecting those who didn't quite make it. Hm, I think I've seen this all before. But the song was good.

My second impression: strange tubes. Is that an oxygen mask? What's with that city in an apocalyptic state? Seeb, what are you wearing, cyberpunk gear? What's with that oxygen mask guy's gun, does it shoot laser rays? Who's that guy with a top hat and a torch? What, a strange portal to another dimension? Seeb, why are you glowing, are you sure you are alright?

But the song is good. It sounds just like Orden Ogan, with pompous choirs supporting the chorus. The song didn't quite blow my brains onto the wall, but it was enough to make my nose bleed and make me wait for the album. I guess the video wasn't so bad either... It's full of clichés and unoriginal ideas, but the strange additions make it seem peculiar enough to be worth watching again. The story remained vague to me, but then again... the song was good. And visually the video was fascinating enough, yet I tend to support music videos with strong storylines.

How about you see and hear for yourself?