How big an umbrella is epic metal? An offshoot of our music with several peculiarities that practically never became popular and huge with perhaps a single exception of Manowar, at least in terms of sales. Because there are many acts that have been categorized under this genre but counted on the fingers are those that have broken out of the purely underground circles.
Black Sword Thunder Attack are not one of those acts. Their music and generally their whole approach around their sound doesn’t leave much room for middle ground. You either like them or you don’t. And we explain.
Just by watching the progress of the band you can understand a lot about it. So we are talking about a band that, even on paper, exists since 2002 (and even further back practically) with their demo “Promo 02”. It took many years to see something official from them and more specifically to get to 2020 and their “March Of The Damned” EP which practically had four compositions from the past. Five years later they present us their first full length work which again has included the tracks from their demos along with new compositions.
Sonically moving I would say that the closest to their sound is Lordian Guard. And that’s not something I would say easily. But it is true. Black Sword have the works of Patriarch Tsamis as their gospel. The whole lo-fi approach of the band offers a result that is quite unique. Some will say that this is an opinion, others that “this is what they could write, this is what they wrote”. I’m one of the first. I believe that today its to have a sound “bad” by the standards of our time (and how easy it is now digitally to achieve at least a good sound, not to say highly professional) and consequently it is the band’s choice to sound like that.
The compositions that accompany the already known compositions from the past stand on the same level. The point of reference is always lyricism. The guitars and the keyboards sting while the special voice blends perfectly. At forty minutes the band’s self-titled album puts a stamp on this often misunderstood idiom.
I wouldn’t recommend it highly since it’s something very special. But if you’re of the great Patriarch school you probably won’t even read these lines because you know what to expect.
