Band:	Majesty
Album:	Hellforces
Style:	Heavy metal, Power metal
Release date:	February 2006

01. The Blessing
02. Hellforces
03. Dance With The Demon
04. Sons Of A New Millenium
05. Heavy Metal Desire
06. March For Victory
07. Like A Raptor
08. Guardians Of The Dragon Grail
09. Freedom Heart
10. Fight Forever
11. Nowhere Man
12. Metal Law 2006

German power metal band Majesty have been around for several years, but they aren't usually paid much attention, or so it seems. In fact, I myself barely knew anything about them when I found their fourth and latest studio album on the shelf of my local Media Markt, but a little pre-listening quickly convinced me to buy it.

A word of warning beforehand: this is cheese we're talking about. Lots of cheese. So if you can't stand that kind of music, you might as well stop reading now.

Lyrically, most songs on "Hellforces" are very True Metal. It begins with a generous self-glorification ("Forever Hail to Majesty!") in the intro, then continues with rallying the supporters (the "Hellforces") in the title track. Hymns to metal, freedom and glorious battles dominate the album; the only real exception is "Like A Raptor," a rather weird song about stalking a woman at night. The big picture looks very Manowar, only the lyrics' quality doesn't quite compare. One might argue that True Metal lyrics aren't known for high quality in the first place, but Majesty's sound particularly stupid sometimes.

Musically, on the other hand, "Hellforces" is excellent. As must be expected from a power metal album, there's nothing innovative to be found, but the songwriting and performance leave very little room for complaints. All songs are extremely melodic and catchy. The most memorable piece is the title track, a high-speed, very energetic song perfect for headbanging. Being the album's real opener, it certainly attracted my attention when I first listened to it. (I resisted starting to headbang in the store though.) Also noticeable are the hymnic "Sons of a New Millennium" and "Guardians of the Dragon Grail" who both have great sing-along choruses. What's more, none of the songs are really bad, not even "Like A Raptor." That gives the album a very good feeling of consistency.

Rating: 8,5 - if you're a power metal fan, and can forgive stupid lyrics as long as the music is good, this one is for you.