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Blood Guts and Glory

Ogg the Barbarian | The Northern Wastes | 09/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Band:Cryonic Temple

Album:Blood Guts & Glory

Record Company:LIMB Music

Writer: Ogg the Barbarian

Things are, generally, exactly what they appear to be. You heard it here. More importantly, you heard it from me, brethren, and as one beloved of Odin and all the really super cool gods, no other mortal opinion is relevant-- don't you feel lucky to have Ogg to think for you? Cryonic Temple is classic Euro-Power/prog-i.e.: Testosterone fueled battle hymns and a he-man woman haters club in-your-face mentality that belongs to no other genre of music. Nothing more. Nothing less. One look at the Frazetta-style cover painting tells you exactly what's on the inside-- it is completely, unabashedly WITHOUT PRETENSE.



OK-- according to The Dictionary of Everything You Ever Needed to Know, classic Euro-Power/prog=Helloween clone. This is not necessarily true. Although I'm agitated by a dunning lack of original thought or innovative idea in this style of music from time to time, this is not the case here. "Mercenaries of Metal", the first track, for example-- over six minutes long, and complete with a reverb-heavy chaingang chorus. Sure, sure-- regurgitated Manowar. I should be quaffing grog, pulling my hair, tossing it across the hearth and on to the next disc, but I'm not-- this band is not without its merits. Cryonic Temple, a five piece, know little about dynamics, apparently-- their pace starts, lives and ends in the breakneck zone. For all that speed, there is a stamina and solidity to the work. This has the feel of a journeyman band with great commitment to their craft, and a strong sense of traditional metal. In power metal, there is a razor thin line between the sublime and the silly-- when a band can draw comparisons to Manowar, that band flirts with the silly side of that spectrum-- but here is a band that has not crossed that line . Not yet.



General overview: nice flirtation with the classical modes in the solo work and good restraint shown in the keyboard arrangement. Admittedly the keyboards are of the ambient noise variety, but not obnoxiously so. The guitars attack with straight on conviction, and overall, the guitar parts are well honed (but right on the cusp of sounding over-produced). Lyrically-- well, I'll give you the titles of six of the ten tracks on "Blood, Guts & Glory" and let you guess for yourself: "Mercenaries of Metal"; "Swords and Diamonds"; "Thunder and Lightning"; "The Story of the Sword"; "Long Live the Warriors"; and "Triumph of Steel". Heard enough? The vocals are tight, and soar as power vox should, but there is enough of a Dickinsonian (I just invented a word!) overtone to make it listenable, which is important. Just cuz it's nothing new, doesn't mean it's nothing good. Cryonic Temple has the skills to wave d#@ks with any of the heavyweights in this genre, and if pure power/prog is your cup 'o mead, then get this disc. Ogg the Brabarian gives "Blood, Guts & Glory" three and a half bronze shields out of five.

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