PARAGON - Revenge

Posted: 8/11/05

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Power Metal

Released: 2005

Label URL: www.magickrecords.com

Artist URL: www.paragon-legions.com

1/2

Founded in 1990, this German power metal band has released seven albums prior to Revenge.  The surprising thing is that I have never heard of them prior to receiving this release from the label.

In 2000, the band hooked up with Iron Savior vocalist/guitarist Piet Sielck, and had him produce their Steelbound record.  Paragon toured with Iron Savior shortly thereafter.  The relationship has continued with Revenge, as Piet continues his role as producer.

Prior to knowing that Piet was involved with Paragon, my reaction was that Revenge sounded like a carbon copy of Iron Savior.  Lead vocalist Andreas Babuschkin sounds a helluva lot like Piet and the guitar riffs and song structures are quite similar.  Now, knowing the background, it all makes sense.  This is a good and bad thing because fans of Iron Savior will love this release, but Paragon really does not have its own identity. 

The Bloody Truth:  If you love power metal, these guys deliver, but if you’re looking for originality, this is not it.  There’s a lot of speedy double-bass drumming, as is expected with power metal, and the riffs are precise as hell.  The band also puts effort into writing strong choruses (“Assassins” and “Traitor”) on many songs.  Some are less hooky and a bit too long (“Masters Of The Seas”) though.  A cover of Manowar’s “The Gods Made Heavy Metal” is appropriate and done well, and something the band should use as a template for their own songs.  Power metal fans (Iron Savior fans, especially), check out Paragon.