The Power Metal Thread

Taramis - "Queen of Thieves" (1987)

Melbourne progressive metal outfit Taramis hold somewhat of a prestigious position in the story of Australian metal. They were arguably the first metal act of any note to start messing with progressive influences which gave them a distinct point of difference while still maintaining enough of a traditional heavy metal component to ensure that they didn't lose any of the old-schoolers along the way. I didn't become aware of them until their 1991 sophomore album "Stretch of the Imagination" which I regard as being their finest work however my recent investigations into the early roots of the Aussie metal scene have seen me finally exploring their 1985 "Blood and Honour" demo tape & 1987 debut album "Queen of Thieves", neither of which are as thrashy as the band would eventually become. The Prowler demo was a decent enough heavy metal release although it was a lot less expansive & more conventional than the Taramis releases. It was clear that there was some talent there though so I was interested to see how that would develop on "Queen of Thieves". It certainly has too as this is a far more sophisticated release than the demo ever aspired to be.

The impact of Taramis' debut album is a little restricted due to an overly raw production job that was fairly typical of underground releases of the time. It was recorded at Saturn Studios in Melbourne with unknown producer George Simak who isn't exactly a household name in the local metal scene. The results are pretty much as you would expect too with the guitars sounding tinny & far too far back in the mix while the vocals of operatic front man Shane Southby boom out over the top with no restraint whatsoever. It's a fairly unforgiving position for the theatrical Southby whose soaring, air-raid siren style, high-pitched voice often struggles for control, even spilling over into the pitchy & cringe-worthy on tracks like "The Chosen" where he completely ruins what was otherwise a very solid progressive metal number from an instrumental point of view. He's a lot more successful on other tracks though & I've found myself enjoying a good three quarters of the tracklisting with heavy metal closer "My Life" being the only other failure. Taramis are at their best when they're at their most adventurous & prove themselves to be highly capable musicians along the way. Iron Maiden have clearly been a major inspiration for them & you can easily pick up the influence of their more progressive mid-to-late 80's records on "Queen of Thieves", particularly on the basslines of Danny Komorr who forms a formidable partnership with former Nothing Sacred drummer Dave Browne. The guitar solos of Craig Robertson aren't the most polished or theoretically correct you'll find but they are always interesting & fit the purpose quite well. It's kinda hard to pigeon-hole Taramis' sound at this point though as they tend to jump around a bit but I think a progressive power metal tag is probably the best fit, despite the consistent presence of traditional heavy metal. I think Southby's vocal style simply points me in the direction of power metal every time I question myself & there's a similar feel to Manilla Road in the atmospheres at times too.

The raw production job does limit how far Taramis can take you to an extent but I've found more than enough appeal in "Queen of Thieves" to keep me interested. It's probably just lacking those couple of classic tracks to draw your attention away from its flaws with only the excellent progressive metal anthem "Doesn't Seem" pushing up into second tier territory. The rest of the album largely sits back in the third tier for this type of music but it was an admirable first-up effort for Taramis nonetheless. History has shown that it did just enough to afford them a rare status amongst a local scene that was still quite immature in terms of the more progressive end of metal so it deserves its place in Australian metal folklore.

For fans of Adramelch, Iron Maiden & Manilla Road.

3.5/5

Enticer - "Reaper of the Earth/Dying Aged" single (1989)

I haven't heard this obscure 7" single since the early 1990's but it's held up beautifully, despite the thin demo-quality production job. Enticer were a five-piece band from my hometown of Sydney whose sound sat somewhere between power metal & thrash metal & this single is a great example of that with the A side "Reaper of the Earth" leaning more towards the power metal side of the equation & the B side "Dying Aged" angling more towards the thrash one. Both are enjoyable inclusions, particularly "Dying Aged" which is a very solid piece of Aussie thrash indeed. The vocals of Steve Sidhu soar over the top of fast tremolo-picked speed metal riffage while the dual guitar solos blaze away around them. This is about as metal as it gets & I've been surprised at my much it's appealed to me to be honest. I'd recommend it to those thrash fans that struggle to find power metal with enough balls to keep their interest.

For fans of Iced Earth, Paradox & Savage Messiah.

4/5

Rothgar - "Where Chaos Reigns" demo (1990)

The first of three demo tapes from this Perth-based four-piece who are generally known as a thrash metal act. Their debut effort is much more in line with the US power metal scene though with the lengthy 44-minute run time being comprised of an impressively consistent eight song showcase. The band make strong reference to their heavy metal upbringing during a couple of slower numbers in "Dark Passion" (the only weaker track in my opinion) & "On the Run" while opener "The Passion Behind the Throne" is an up-tempo speed metal affair. I enjoy the vocals of guitarist Andrew Day as well as the expansive arrangements which defy the short lifespan of the band who had only been around for a year by this stage. Closer "Season's End" is probably the thrashiest inclusion & (perhaps inevitably) has comfortably become my favourite song here. I may not be the biggest power metal fan but I can certainly get onboard with this material which is worth a few listens for our The Guardians faithful.

For fans of Iron Maiden, Nothing Sacred & Taramis.

3.5/5