ANGUS MCSIX

You have to be pretty smart to be this ludicrous. ANGUS MCSIX were born shortly after Thomas Winkler was sacked from the (recently disgraced) GLORYHAMMER. Joining forces with ORDEN OGAN's Sebastian Levermann, Winkler swiftly embarked on a new project, with a head full of preposterous tales, and a musical remit that kept him firmly in the fantasy power metal camp. The first fruits of this collaboration arrived in 2023. "Angus McSix and the Sword of Power" was a brilliantly over-the-top and remorselessly silly debut that created its own mythology in real time. With tales of laser-shooting dinosaurs and "fireflies of doom", it was purposefully ridiculous and goofy, but so well-conceived and deftly executed that only those with no sense of humor could reasonably object. ANGUS MCSIX was designed to put a smile on people's faces, and on the basis of their first album, that mission was destined to be accomplished with ease.

But changes were afoot. The second ANGUS MCSIX album, "Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye", showcases the arrival of a new singer, known as Prince Adam McSix and ostensibly Angus's brother (but, in reality, MANIMAL frontman Samuel Nyman). Levermann remains the mastermind of this whole ludicrous concept, and even though Winkler's fate (and future career) remain a mystery, the evolution of this band from one album to the next has been expertly handled. A second batch of songs that draw from bright and breezy European power metal, but with thumping electronic elements and a strong kitsch pop influence, this is every bit as a demented and wildly uplifting as its predecessor.

Angus McSix has been imprisoned and has passed the torch to his supposed sibling, with the fate of the universe now resting in his hands. Not unreasonably, Adam McSix's adventures require a soundtrack, and this album provides it, at full blast and as cartoonish and comically futuristic as can be. Fans of FEUERSCHWANZ, BEAST IN BLACK and VICTORIUS will already be fans of ANGUS MCSIX, but this album will make them love him — and / or his replacement – even more. It certainly helps that Adam / Nyman is a total powerhouse, as he demonstrates on the opening "6666" with octave-scaling singing feats that threaten to shatter all the windows and scare the shit out of any unsuspecting pets. As was the case on the debut, every one of these songs is absurdly catchy and full of souped-up AOR hooks and assorted cross-genre mischief. But this is still a heavy metal record, as the synth-drenched blowout of "The Fire Of Yore" makes plain, with big riffs from guitarists The Dwarf (Jasmin Pabst, ex-ALL FOR METAL) and Thalestris (PRIMAL FEAR's Thalia Bellazecca),and no quarter given to anything sensible or gloomy.

Elsewhere, there are guest appearances from members of RHAPSODY OF FIRE (on the joyous "I Am Adam McSix"),VAN CANTO (on the textbook power metal pomp of "Dig Down") and Finnish oddballs TURMION KÄTILÖT (on the robot-friendly "Techno Men"). There is a song dedicated to drummer Ork Zero ("Ork Zero", not surprisingly) and a hymn to "The Power Of Metal" featuring German stalwarts FREEDOM CALL, who are clearly having a fabulous time being considerably more ridiculous than usual. ANGUS MCSIX is a magnificent vehicle for everyone involved: an outlet for silliness, but also as a liberating, grin-inducing celebration of power metal at its most unhinged and reality-phobic. Escapism is essential in these idiotic times, so why not jump on board and have your spirits raised by these diehard fantasists? We can all be serious at some point in the distant future. For now, this is too much fun.