Released By: Rockshots Records
Release Date: November 22nd, 2024
Genre: Heavy/Power Metal
Links: https://kingcrownmgtm.wixsite.
Line Up
Joe Amore – Vocals
Ced Legger – Guitars
Bob Saliba – Guitars
Seb Chabot – Bass
David Amore – Drums
Tracklist
1. The Magic Stone
2. Nova Atlantis
3 Real or Fantasy
4. Guardian Angels
5. Letter to Myself
6. Judgement Day
7. A Long Way to Valhalla
8. Souls of Travelers
9. Utopia Metropolis
10. When Stars Are Aligned
11. Endless Journey
For a long time, one of my favorite French power metal bands has been Nightmare, and while I’ve still greatly enjoyed their recent output, one of my favorite aspects of their music was former vocalist Joe Amore, who left the band following their 2014 release, Aftermath. It took a while for me to notice, but Amore eventually ended up forming a new band in 2018, named Kingcrown, along with his brother David Amore, who was Nightmare’s drummer the whole time Joe was their vocalist. They released a solid debut in 2019, titled A Perfect World, followed by a strong sophomore record in 2022, titled Wake Up Call, which was their first album I heard and while I wasn’t blown away, I did enjoy it a great deal. The band is now set to release their third album, Nova Atlantis, and after listening to it for a few weeks, I can safely say it’s their best work to date!
While Amore’s former band has gotten increasingly darker and more extreme with their recent work, Kingcrown sticks to more of a classic heavy/power metal sound, with a big emphasis on heavy guitar work and killer choruses, along with some excellent vocal melodies. There are some light keyboards on a few tracks, and they do occasionally take lead, but more often than not this is a very guitar driven album, with dual guitarists Ced Legger and Bob Saliba being the stars of the show, from an instrumental perspective. I found the first two albums to be a bit laidback at times, with a fairly even mix between speedy power metal and more slow paced, softeer melodic metal tracks, with each album having a few ballads. This album does still have a good balance between genres, and in fact, I’d say it’s probably their most varied and dynamic album to date, with an impressive amount of variety between tracks, but I’d also say it’s heavier, faster and more energetic as a whole, compared to the previous albums. Guitar work is often heavy and has a classic feel to it, and it can also get thrashy at times, as well as very melodic, with tons of Maiden style melodic guitar leads and some excellent melodic, very classic sounding solos. David Amore does a great job as always, obviously at his best when going full speed, but also doing a great job of providing some nice grooves on the slower and more mid-paced tracks.
Production is excellent across the board, with DGM’s Simone Mularoni in charge of the mix, and he does a fantastic job of making everything sound perfect, as usual. Lyrically, the album is largely centered around myths and legends, and while I didn’t find them particularly memorable on any tracks, they also don’t get in the way and are generally solid. Songwriting is a big step up from previous albums, as I found those to be a tad unven, with some excellent songs as well as the occasional weaker track, and then some solid but not overly impressive tracks, while Nova Atlantis is excellent the whole way through, with a few tracks in particular sticking out as instant favorites. The first half in particular moves along at a brisk pace, with one highlight after another, and there’s a great amount of variety in the tracks, so it’s immediately easy to tell them apart. Things do start blending together slightly in the back half, but the songs are all excellent, and while I’d say the front half is a bit stronger overall, there aren’t any tracks I’d ever consider cutting. Obviously, one of the most appealing aspects of Kingcrown for me is Joe Amore’s vocals, and he’s in top form as always, with his falsetto as intense and powerful as ever, and his delivery is still as wild and animated as Nightmare fans would remember it being on his later albums. He’s at his best when singing at full power, but still does a good job on softer tracks, and he does a fantastic job of bringing out the melodies on some excellent choruses throughout the album.
The album kicks off in fine form with “The Magic Stone”, one of the speedier tracks. It starts off with melodic guitar work, before the pace drops a bit and heavier guitars kick in during the opening verse, where Amore quickly goes to work with his excellent vocals. The chorus speeds things up and has some fantastic vocal melodies, and is one of my favorites on the album, as is the guitar solo, which has a very classic power metal feel to it. Overall, it’s a fantastic opener, and one of my favorites on the album. Next is the title track, which alternates nicely between soft, melodic sections and speedier sections with some epic Maiden style guitar work. The verses are slow paced and largely enjoyable, aside from a sort of sound effect coming from the guitars, and I find that a bit distracting, but the rest of the track is amazing. My favorite part of the track is the chorus, which is speedy, explosive and has some very animated vocals from Amore, leading into some awesome melodic guitar leads at the end. The guitar solo is nice, and the final run through the chorus is epic, with some awesome chanting vocals added in towards the end.
The highlights keep coming with “Real or Fantasy”, which has a bit of a thrashy sound to it. The verses remind me of a mix between classic Metallica and Megadeth, moving at a fairly quick pace with some very heavy, intense riffs and animated vocals with a slight heavy metal edge to them. The track gets more melodic as it moves on, with the chorus being surprisingly upbeat and cheerful in its sound, compared to the darker sounding verses, and it adds in some light keys, which are used effectively. The track alternates fluidly between heavy and melodic sections, making for a nice contrast. One of the more classic power metal sounding tracks is “Guardian Angels”, which sounds a bit thrashy during its opening, but the verses have a more melodic sound, while still being heavy, and then the chorus is very melodic and upbeat, reminding me a lot of classic Helloween and Gamma Ray, with epic soaring vocal melodies. The track as a whole is mostly melodic and has that classic power metal feel to it, but with a bit of an extra edge added from the guitar work, which is really cool. There’s an excellent bridge, which is heavy and a bit more mid-paced, with intense vocals from Amore, and it leads into a fast-paced, very melodic guitar solo. Overall, this is probably my favorite track on the album.
One slight curveball arrives in the form of “Letter to Myself”, a more keyboard driven track which has a bit of that Beast in Black style disco metal sound to it, though the guitar work is still fairly heavy throughout, to help give it an extra edge. The track moves at more of a moderate tempo throughout, and has a bouncy feel to it, clearly going for more of a fun and catchy sound. The chorus in particular is excellent, as Amore’s voice suits this style perfectly and the melodies are excellent. There’s a nice, ballad-like section at the end, which closes the track out well. Another soft section is used at the beginning of “Judgement Day”, with some soft, very emotional sounding guitar work accompanied by light vocals, before heavier guitars kick in and the drums speed up, moving at a fast pace leading into the opening verse. The track alternates between speedy, slow and mid-tempo passages quite a bit, with the verses being more upbeat, while the chorus is slower and more atmospheric, with a big emphasis on backing vocals. Speaking of vocals, the second verse has a different voice, and I’m not sure who it is, but it sure doesn’t sound like Amore, as it’s much softer and less intense. Either way, the vocals are great throughout, and the song is excellent. Once again, the track closes out on a soft note, which leads into the one full ballad on the album, “A Long Way to Valhalla”. While I wasn’t overly impressed by any of the band’s previous ballads, this track is quite nice, led by some very soft guitar work and more subdued vocals from Amore. The verses have a laid back, atmospheric feel to them, and the track builds slowly, with the first run through the chorus being calm, but as the track progresses more heavy guitar work is added in and Amore’s vocals become more animated, with later runs through the chorus being quite epic. There’s also a fantastic guitar solo towards the end.
Fans of classic power metal are sure to love “Souls of Travelers”, which once again sounds very similar to classic Helloween and Gamma Ray, especially the latter, I’d say. Verses are fast, energetic and have a slight edge to the guitars, while the chorus is very melodic and super catchy, with fantastic vocal melodies. It’s a very speedy, energetic track overall, and one of my favorites on the album. The guitar solo in particular has a very nostalgic sound to it, and is fantastic. Next is “Utopia Metropolis”, a slightly more subdued track, moving at a fairly moderate tempo throughout. It has some nice melodic lead guitar work during the intro, while the verses are mostly led by bass, drums and vocals, giving the track a nice groove. The chorus adds in more melodic guitar work, and is quite catchy, if a bit light compared to most tracks on the album. The highlight of the track is the bridge, where Amore goes all out with some intense vocals, while the keys become a bit more energetic, and it leads into a very nice guitar solo.
The last really speedy track on the album is “When the Stars Are Aligned”, which has more of a raw sound to it, somewhat speed metal influenced. It moves at a rapid pace, with heavy riffs and intense drums, and the verses are very fiery and intense. The chorus is the highlight, starting off slow and melodic, before speeding up in a big way and going all out for one of the speediest sections on the entire album, with some epic vocals. The track alternates nicely between the more frantic parts and the calmer parts, and it’s yet another personal favorite. Closing out the album is “Endless Journey”, another fairly restrained track, led by some nice melodic guitar leads. It starts off fairly heavy, before settling down for a slow, atmospheric opening verse, with moody vocals and lyrics, slowly building towards a melodic, slightly upbeat chorus, which never fully speeds up, but moves at a fairly moderate tempo. It’s a track which alternates seamlessly between soft and heavier sections throughout, with the ending in particular being very soft and ending the album quite nicely.
I enjoyed the previous two Kingcrown albums, without being fully impressed, but with Nova Atlantis the band has stepped up their game considerably, and delivered a fantastic album from start to finish. It has a nice mix of speedy material, with a nice amount of heaviness, as well as some slower tracks, some more mid-paced tracks and the occasional softer sections. Fans of the band’s previous works are sure to love this, while fans of classic power metal and heavy metal should also find a lot to love, with the vocals, choruses and guitar work all being excellent, and the songwriting is engaging throughout. It’s an excellent album overall, and I hope the band can build on it with future releases.
Ratings: 9/10
Written by: Travis Green
My Global Mind – Staff Writer
Travis Green is a Canadian based writer for My Global Mind, with a particular passion for power metal, as well as an interest metal in all its forms.
About Author
