Visigoth – Conquerors Oath – Album Review

Now that Manowar are coming to an end – and Iron Maiden have clearly forgotten what it was that made them great in the first place – we need traditional metal sounding bands like Utah’s Visigoth more than ever!

If you have yet to experience Visigoth, just think of the aforementioned Iron Maiden, or Saxon in their prime but with Ronnie James Dio writing their lyrics, or a three-way bunk-up between Omen, Warlord (US) and Cirith Ungol, or Grand Magus, only dealing in fantasy and not Norse mythology, or…..we could go on forever, you get the picture.

While Visigoth have clearly dedicated themselves to recreating the glorious sounds of metal’s heyday, that’s not to say that these marauding invaders are a bunch of rip off merchants, far from it in fact! They’re simply a band in awe of the power of hammer-forged METAL and while a myriad of influences wring clear, Visigoth are clearly their own battalion.

Featuring eight fantastical tales of good versus evil, each song on Conqueror’s Oath is finely crafted and overflowing with deftly intertwined guitar lines courtesy of Jamison Palmer and Leeland Campana – who obviously feed off each other incredibly well and are a formidable pairing – but the star of the show is front man Jake Rogers, who delivers his lines with unbridled energy and honest conviction and can clearly warble with the best of ’em.

Pure class from beginning to end, if you can listen to the likes of “Steel and Silver”, “Warrior Queen” or “Hammerforged” and not throw the horns and give those knackered old neck muscles a good work out, then you’re already dead. This is life-affirming stuff and while Conquerors Oath may only be Visigoth’s sophomore album, it should, if there is any justice in the word, see them jump to the front of the trad metal pack.

With Conquerors Oath, Visigoth have created an album that defines the very reason for heavy metal’s existence. It’s pure escapism, it gives you a chance to escape the nonsense of everyday life and it positively bleeds integrity. So, throw on your favourite loin cloth, wield your broadsword, or do whatever you do when listening to the purest metal sounds imaginable…..the conquerer’s have returned! 9/10