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METALIUM– HERO NATION- CHAPTER THREE
2002 Massacre Records
I swear, Metalium works harder than any other band in Metal. Since 1999, the band has released three studio albums and a live EP. What makes this so impressive is the fact that they've had a revolving door lineup since the beginning. No lineup has recorded more than one album! Yet the Metalium sound stays in tact. The band is now four members. Vocalist Henning Basse and bassist Lars Ratz are joined this time by new guitarist Matthias Lange and new drummer Michael Soundso. And let me tell you, this band bleeds Metal! These guys are as Metal as Manowar.

The Metalium story is continued, this chapter is called HERO NATION. There are some really interesting songs about notorious historical and literary figures such as El Cid, Nero, Rasputin, Joan of Arc, Odin, Odysseus and Romeo and Juliet. The title song is about their fans (called "Metalians.")

This album is heavy and powerful, very similar in sound to their last album, STATE OF TRIUMPH. Overall, I think I like this album more, almost as much as the debut album. If you're a fan of German Power Metal, you probably already own at least one of their albums (or you should) and you'll like this album too. It fits nicely along side the first two albums and is consistently great throughout. Some of my favorite songs are "Revenge of Tizona" (crushing & soaring power), "In The Name of Blood" (great guitars), "Odin's Spell" (slow, powerful groove) and "Throne In The Sky" (speed metal attack). Out of the 11 songs, I don't hear a throwaway track, to be honest. There's a ballad called "Infinite Love," which is a duet with female vocalist Carolin Fortenbacher, that I must confess is pretty good. The album also features guest appearances by former Ozzy Osbourne/Rainbow keyboardist Don Airey and former Primal Fear guitarist Tom Naumann.

The album artwork is pretty cool and the booklet is well done. I was able to get the limited edition of HERO NATION with a bonus disc. It includes live tracks and some multimedia stuff that is really cool, so check it out if you can. Recommended!

DISCOGRAPHY:

MILLENIUM METAL- CHAPTER ONE (1999) Pavement
STATE OF TRIUMPH- CHAPTER TWO (2001) Massacre
METALIAN ATTACK- LIVE (EP) (2001) Locomotive Music
HERO NATION- CHAPTER THREE (2002) Massacre

Click here for link to METALIUM Song Samples! (Click on Downloads, then Songs)