Published on May 22, 2000
As much as I’m not the biggest fan in the world of retro-metal,
I have to give the Australian quartet Pegazus a lot of credit. Not
only have they studied the lessons of bands like Iron Maiden and
Manowar, but they’ve successfully taken that sound and feel and
translated it into modern-day music. Their latest release,
Breaking The Chains, is ample evidence of this.
The band – vocalist Danni Ceceit, bassist Cory Betts, and the
brothers Stoj (Johnny on guitars, Robbie on drums) — do something
interesting on the ten cuts that make up this album. They take
almost the exact sound of classic ’80s metal and make it both
interesting and relevant for today.
To be honest, I didn’t think they’d pull it off this well. After
the album’s opener “Metal Forever,” I was able to appreciate the
effort and musicianship of the band, but I was worried that the
rest of the disc would continue in the “death-to-all-but-metal”
posturing that bands such as Manowar made a career out of.
Fortunately, Pegazus shows that they have many other facets to
their music.
Once you clear the hump of “Metal Forever,”
Breaking The Chains runs for what seems like an eternity
without making a single mistake. Tracks like “The Crusade,” “Tears
Of The Angels,” “Chariots Of The Gods” and the title track all
serve as proof that not every band worships the thousand-note
guitar solo. Instead, Pegazus actually put some effort into
crafting a good song structure and a powerful rhythm track. This is
what really helps to push this band over the edge and make this
disc so entertaining.
It actually gets to the point that you might not care that
precious little new musical ground is being broken. In truth, it
doesn’t really seem to matter. If Pegazus can be credited for
anything, it would be that their sound pays warm tribute to classic
Iron Maiden. While you’ll enjoy this disc as long as it’s playing,
don’t be surprised if you find yourself digging out your battered
copies of
Powerslave or
Somewhere In Time after this disc ends.
Mistakes? There are just a few. Pegazus makes only one real
mis-step on the last original track, “Apache Warrior.” This concept
and rhythm sounds a bit forced, and the track suffers as a result.
The only other qualm I had was on their otherwise impressive cover
of Helloween’s “A Little Time.” This track is still very fresh in
my mind (having been pulled from
Better Than Raw, which was released just a few years ago),
and I can still hear the vocal harmonies in the chorus. Sadly,
these are chucked out the window on this cover… and the
difference is quite noticeable. Still, an otherwise applaudable
effort.
Breaking The Chains is the kind of disc that you might not
want to like before you’ve heard it, but you’ll find hard to yank
out of your CD changer once you’ve experienced it. Pegazus soars
high with this release, hitting only a little turbulence on the
journey. If you still long for the days of metal’s glory,
Breaking The Chains is a modern-day reminder of why you fell
in love with the genre in the first place.