Angus McSix - Angus McSix and the Sword of Power (2023)^{Release ID: 44171}

A Baffling Resurrection

I'm not the best historian so I can't accurately say when, but at some point, Power Metal became excessively silly. To most, Power Metal is probably synonymous with cheesy, simple, and hook-laden choruses about the lead singer's Dungeons and Dragons campaign or the band's self-insert in a Lord of the Rings inspired fantasy world. The modern scene has certainly employed a ton of high-fantasy ideas more often than not, but genre pioneers like Helloween, Blind Guardian, and Running Wild kept their topics rather tame and simple and their Metal writing suitably blazing for Power Metal overall. Theatrical and over-the-top musings about ancient warriors and spells, hobbits, and pirates may have been a bit silly when compared to the rest of the Metal landscape, but it never stepped into the absolutely absurd. Then, atop a fearsome dragon screaming across a blackened sky lit only by bolts of magical lightning, Rhapsody began their mighty conquest of the ludicrous side of Power Metal. More and more Power Metal bands embraced the idea of going full bore with fantastical storytelling, replacing tame song titles like "Wizard's Crown" or "March of Time" with incredibly wild ones like "Dargor, Shadowlord Of The Black Mountain" or "In The Mighty Hall Of The Fire King". In the early 2010's, a certain band from Scotland decided to take the joke and run with it. Gloryhammer, a side project created by Alestorm's Christopher Bowes, uses a set cast of characters, real places like Dundee or the Kingdom of Fife, and facetious lyrics and storytelling that's meant to be silly. Gloryhammer's initial trilogy of albums was led by vocalist Thomas Winkler as the central hero Angus McFife, but after some rough behind-the-scenes behavior on the rest of the band's part, Winkler was replaced in mid-2021. I enjoyed Gloryhammer's slightly stupid but fun take on creating their own little Power Metal universe, so losing the original Angus was a bit disheartening.

I felt like this longwinded foreword was necessary because Angus McSix and the Sword of Power might be one of the most confusing album experiences I've ever had. In the middle of 2022 I heard whisperings that Gloryhammer was back in the studio and released a pretty disappointing single with "Fly Away", the first new track with new vocalist Sozos Michael. This new track felt incredibly generic after the tragic death of Angus McFife in Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex and I started to wonder why the band didn't just lean into the situation at hand. The original Angus McFife literally threw himself into a volcano at the end of the album, why not just reincarnate him as the next Angus in the timeline, or shove his burned skeleton into a magical time-travelling robot? It felt like such a wasted opportunity. Then, earlier this year, a single day after I joked to a friend about calling the new guy Angus McSix, Angus McSix was officially born as Winkler's new project. Well I'll be damned, the guy actually just ran with the joke. The Sword of Power released about a month before the newest Gloryhammer offering, so I was very curious about what Winkler would do to separate himself from his previous gig. Something wasn't exactly adding up on the first listen though, since the story seemed to be utterly incomprehensible with an intro track being haphazardly shoved into the middle of the album. A few days later I learned that the stock track listing is completely wrong and there is a "lore order" that the tracks are meant to be played in to get the full album experience. Great. This was a massive realization in album sequencing for me as the true order of the album makes the final product flow way better than what's initially listed.

After all the dust, confusion, and drama around this album settled, I gotta say that it's just not very good. Which, after all this exposition, is pretty disappointing, not gonna lie. Angus McSix intentionally ripping off Gloryhammer had all the means to be an absolute blast, but neither the music or the lyrics amount to much at all in the end. Angus McSix pushes their Power Metal guitars all the way to the back of the mix in favor of overpowering synths and choirs that flatten everything into a drab wall of nothing. The more electronic-forward approach has its highlights like "Eternal Warrior" or "In A Past Reality" where there's some interesting interplay between the more rhythmic guitar chugs as the synths take charge of the melody. Most of those moments are short lived, though, as The Sword of Power quickly veers into truly embarrassing territory outside of its four or so passable tracks. "Ride To Hell's" awkward, synthetic sounding gang vocals alongside thumping EDM bass was a bit much for me, but that was just the warmup to the total mess that is "Laser-Shooting Dinosaur". At least I can give it points for fully committing to Angus McSix's attempted theme of pumping electronic music supported by semblances of Power Metal riffs, whereas "Fireflies of Doom" with its awful chorus, eye-rolling key change, and uninteresting synth choices is the key example for how this all went wrong. After a bit more research I found out that the culprit behind all the musical choices I generally dislike is Sebastian Levermann of Orden Ogan, debuting as Arch Demon Seebulon, The Origin of all Evil. Incredibly fitting, to say the least, since Orden Ogan's synth-drenched style was never really my thing.

There are a few highlights on The Sword of Power, though, and these give a short glimpse into how this parody of a parody could have panned out if a bit more care was put into the identity and ideas of this thing. "Master of the Universe" is legitimately funny (if not petty) with its direct callouts to Gloryhammer, declaring Angus McSix reincarnated as a shining upgrade clad in gleaming gold. "Sixcalibur" is basically what I expected out of this project as Winkler provides some powerful verses and a fun, catchy chorus alongside forced lore about Angus McSix's weapon replacement to smite interstellar goblins. The closing "Starlord Of The Sixtus Stellar System" is the closest the album gets to a ripping guitar riff and although it pales in comparison to Gloryhammer's ten minute finales, the "Angus!" chants still get me to crack a smile. The rest of the album doesn't manage to keep up the energy level as the more sweeping "Amazons Of Caledonia" and "The Key To Eternity" come across as dull and tired despite the high energy synths. Winkler's vocal performance isn't anything to write home about either, which is wild considering The Sword of Power seems to be his direct rebuttal towards the Angus of old. "Master Of The Universe", "Sixcalibur", and "Eternal Warrior" showcase his skills well, but it's nothing that eclipses his performances on Gloryhammer. The constant use of choir, backing vocals, and overdubs causes Winkler to lose a ton of power and identity as he's drowned out by mediocre melodies and barely memorable riffs.

The Sword of Power is an unfortunate case study in what feels like the eventual culmination of silly Power Metal losing the backbone of what made it interesting in the first place. While Gloryhammer was no stranger to overpowering synth and orchestral melodies, the Power Metal portion along with the theming and overall sound design on their synths gave them the energy and audacity to make their whole shtick work out. Winkler and Levermann sought to differentiate Angus McSix by going for a more stellar and godlike theme, but the heavenly soundscapes suck out most of the energy from the compositions without adding much to the feel of the story. The story itself is disappointing as well since it's filled to the brim with Gloryhammer pandering that feels like it's included to desperately try to pull fans to Angus McSix's side rather than just running with the joke. Instead of getting a new epic tale of Angus McSix across the solar systems, The Sword of Power throws in demon fireflies as undead unicorn substitutes, the Key of Eternity as the bauble that Angus must quest to find, and Thalestris from Caledonia as the beginning of Angus' cast of stage mates. All of it feels like a lame rehash without adding anything new or exciting, especially when the storytelling aspect of the album is basically nonexistent. For as dumb as Gloryhammer can be, they still understand how to set up a concept album with clear protagonists, antagonists, and stakes of any kind. The Sword of Power is entirely a prologue piece from what I can tell, which is a pretty disappointing choice considering they took an entire album to get through two or three plot points without even mentioning any sort of main villain.

Is all of this complaining about a parody of a parody Power Metal band worthless and unfounded considering it's just supposed to be fun? Probably, but I think there's room to have higher standards for silly Power Metal, especially since other bands have shown that it's possible. Angus McSix took what made Gloryhammer fun and created a cheap and, quite frankly, lazy knockoff that stripped back the Power Metal energy in favor of Trance Metal electronics and uninspired symphonics. I respect them for trying to go in a musically different direction even though it doesn't appeal to me at all, but when the lyrical content and theme of the album tries to compete directly with the obvious competition, it becomes a bit confusing. Adding the track order debacle on top of that, something doesn't quite add up here. Maybe it was a time crunch, maybe it was a misunderstanding with the label, or maybe this is all they could muster to try and salvage their own lore out of alternate reality Kingdom of Fife. As a fan of silly Power Metal, I'm hoping Winkler and company can eventually find their footing and provide something with a bit more identity and pizzazz than what's on display here.

Lore Order Track Listing

7, 8, 9, 5, 2, 1, 10, 11, 3, 4, 6