Review by Lynxie on November 12, 2022.

I remember checking Memories Of Old out in the early February of 2020 when I was rather new to both metal and power metal. At that time, I had just got into Reinxeed and I thought of trying some of Tommy's other works. Back then, only the singles were out, and I didn't think much of it. Then this dropped and blew my mind with its sheer power and epicness. I'm constantly going back to The Zeramin Game all these times and honestly by this point, this release has reached perfection on my scale.

Straight to the content. As usual, we start with a narrative intro introducing the background of the album. In this case, our story is set in a cursed land without history named Xia. And then Overture would give you an idea of the whole musical progression of the album. Already the epicness was overflowing, then the grand anthem The Land of Xia stirred up the adventurous mood almost immediately with its pounding rhythm and soaring chorus. Zera's Shadow will sweep you on with its epic, bombastic orchestra. The flowing solo and infectious chorus really sums up what I do enjoy about the symphonic side of power metal. Certainly fans of Rhapsody will not find this boring. And with the first two songs we’ll be familiar with the setting of legend - we know the ailment of the land of Xia and we know it lies under the shadow of the island of Zera.

Now the focus zooms in on our young protagonist Vi and his companion Ty as Some Day Soon expresses their frustration at proving themselves. This track is definitely delivered with some of Sabaton's riffing energy and the chorus is not without a hymnal quality. Of course, no power metal album is complete without a ballad or two, and Destiny is the ultimate power ballad with its swinging rhythm and Tommy delivering some emotional verses. What's more, it definitely made the next track Across the Sea sound more glorious in contrast to the former's melancholic beauty. And the banging riffage on Arrival pushed things to a semi climax for me with its obvious Crystal Empire influence. I especially enjoyed the last part where the guitar and orchestra weaved a fully epic melody. By this point, the story has also come to a semi climax as the young adventurers arrived on the shores of Zera and took their first perilous steps in the Zeramin Game.

Then the storytelling turns to Fowlen, "until now, a man with an untold story of his own" and the would-be protégé of Vi and Ty. Fowlen's Revenge tells briefly of his grief with Zera and his pursuit for the brave young warriors; I suggest a trip to the band’s official website to get to know the whole story. With its keyboard flashing along the guitar in an extremely Freedom Call way and its fast pace, this is definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album. I especially enjoy the little twist in the solo around 5:00 - you'll have to hear it to appreciate it.

At last,we come to the title track, the 14-min epic The Zeramin Game. One might think that a 14-min epic after an album of songs with approximate length of 6 minutes may be too ambitious, but no, this is an absolutely captivating track with its own twists and turns, highs and lows.There are straightforward heavy rocking parts and there are some passages that overdosed on the epicness. As the narrator chants to the rhythm and the tension builds up at around 8:00, the final climax is brought off by a flashy solo. This will definitely raise some goosebumps. What's more, the final reference to The Land of Xia completed the sense of symmetry that I'd always appreciate in concept albums. And the happy Finale will send you on your way with a brilliant mood.

What I consider as one of this album's greatest virtues is probably its pristine production. I remember comparing this one to A Christmas Carol back in 2020 since Tommy was on both of them. And I was struck by how flat and Disney-like the former was while this one's instrumental arrangements and compositing is simply ... perfect. There is an obvious bassline and the drums are the literal backbone of the album. The guitar sound is not drowned out by the orchestra. There are some pretty beefy riffs in songs like Fowlen’s Revenge and Billy pushed out some really slick solos. My favorite thing is how precisely the orchestra adds to the epicness - there are quite a few parts where the thrill just ran down my spine. Then again the upbeat melodies and the generally galloping rhythm are all absolutely satisfying for such an old school power metal fangirl like me. And of course Tommy handled this one magnificently. His range and tone is the perfect fit for this sort of glorious symphonic power metal. The soaring choruses, the heavier verses and the epic choirs were all delivered straight onto my musical G-spot.

I've been thinking about penning this review for some time now, but I've never really got around to doing it until this week. Not that this is an overtly complicated album. Indeed, if you break it down to its core, you'll know it to be not much more than a regular power metal concept album. Yet, basic as it is, everything just falls together so naturally and effortlessly that I can find no dull point. Billy is such a genius composer and lyricist that he has made the generic tale of a young warrior seeking glory really works this time - I started to sympathize with Vi as Tommy sings “Till now I’ve lived a life of mediocrity”; when the guitars rings out to the narrator chanting ominously, my heart clutched for the fate of the young warriors. Even the more Disney-like passages are fun and there’s no cringe moment where the excess of orchestra makes me nauseous. I sure enjoyed this release immensely back in 2020, and I still love it to this day. If symphonic power metal should have a definition, then this would serve. And for a debut, this is most certainly a masterpiece that will stand the test of time.

Highlights:
'The Land of Xia'
'Some Day Soon'
'Arrival'
'Fowlen’s Revenge'
'The Zeramin Game'

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Denis on December 9, 2002.

Australia - The land down under. There isn’t much that we know about it besides that there are kangaroos, is there? This huge untamed territory located at the other end of the world for us North American’s bears many secrets. Unless you're a specialist of the music scene in that area, most people don't really know of many bands that come from there, particularly anything relating to metal. Earlier this year, I discovered a fantastic band called Virgin Black who came out with an amazing album, “Sombre Romantic”. However, there is more in Australia than I was expecting, and that would be Destroyer 666.

With Destroyer 666, another Aussie representative is knocking at my door. Should I open it? This one is much more scary looking than its Avant-garde predecessor. Then again, if you're a hard-core fan, your door must be wide open and you'll surely welcome this brutal beast, because I'm sure that these guys will perfectly fill your savage needs.

This is Destroyer 666’s third full-length release, aside from the two EPs, one MCD, and a demo produced by them since their debut in 1994. Prolific destroyers, if I may say! The music can best be described as being fast and straightforward death metal. The vocals are of the scary type but remain understandable in most parts. There are many good guitar parts with great riffs and solos, ready to please many fans by their excellent execution and sound. The drum and bass sections are rolling like a bulldozer in hell. However, by some force of black magic, all this managed to remain melodic and even at some point, catchy. Even for a non-hardcore fan, such as myself, I could only appreciate the work involved in creating something that has been written with this level of complexity, thus requiring a high level of musicianship to translate it into sound. ‘Clenched Fist,’ ‘Raped,’ and ‘Witch Hunter’ are perfect examples of this. On these songs, I was able to find some thrilling atmosphere, calmer guitar notes, nice vocal effects, and as it is the case with most of the songs, very good guitar riffs.

Bottom Line: If this massacre of fast execution doesn't make your head spin, then I don't know what will!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 7.5
Originality: 7
Production: 8.5
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Allan on April 18, 2002.

Lately I’ve been having trouble finding some bands than can captivate me. It’s like I’ve drained the metal scene for everything it has, but obviously not. I guess I have to look harder. So, that’s why I was surprised when I was introduced to Destroyer 666 with their most recent album, “Cold Steel for an Iron Age”. Two CD’s and two EP’s later, Destroyer 666 is making new fans for obvious reasons.

I kind of expected possibly something typical from this band, for no reason really. I kind of figured they were some band with no innovation or idea of musicianship. Don’t ask me why, but that’s just what hit me before I listened to the music. Though, nowhere near my assumptions, I was pleasantly surprised by how tight this outfit turned out to be.

With nine tracks of Australian “War metal”, I was quickly consumed by the epic atmosphere of “Cold Steel...”. I’m sure many people are asking themselves what exactly is “War metal”. Well, I’d say it has a lot to do with the atmosphere. Ever listen to “Hammerheart”-era Bathory? This album definitely has that type of atmosphere, and that’s partly where term comes from. Don’t get the idea that Destroyer 666 is like a Bathory clone though. They play their own style of epic death and thrash metal. Every song draws very much upon itself to support its ideas, instead of another song. This means that the songs are all unique in there on way while still retaining enough in common that the album is consistent.

The band touches many different aspects. You’ve got tracks that have a lot of groove throughout. This is evident on tracks such as ‘Raped’ and ‘Sons of Perdition’. It’s just got the ability to really get you banging your head. Or you’ve got tracks that are just all out aggressive metal, such as on ‘Savage Pitch’. Then there are those tracks that really incorporate the atmosphere to its full effect, such as ‘Witch Hunter’ and ‘Raped’. It’s also nice to hear a few different vocal approaches. You’ve got black vocals on ‘Shadow’, and then death vocals on 'Black City', or maybe a combination of both on a song like ‘Sons of Perdition’. Also, it’s great to have war-like chants throughout the album acting as a backdrop for the songs. While taking only enough tips from their inspirations and still applying themselves to their music, the band has come up with an excellent piece of work.

Bottom Line: Destroyer 666 is a strong act. Not only are they making great music, but are somewhat unique. I can’t tell you what this is like compared to previous efforts, but if it’s anything like their back catalogue, I’m in for a few more albums of excellent music.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 8
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 8 out of 10