Most of the time, any song with more than three chords in it tends to make me hemmorage and fall over. But this ended up in my review pile this month. Tell me, scanning through your music collection, do you find some of your hard rock faves have lots of twin guitar harmonies? A drummer that lays down a fantastic beat, and once in awhile steps up to the plate with amazing fills and octopus-like stick handling? Songs structured with 2-3 distinct tempo and riff changes per song to keep your fist pumping? Or maybe group of musicians that aren't afraid to take things to the edge and try new musical concepts?

Well, when I scan through mine, I find stuff like LEGEND, TROUBLE, HOLOCAUST, and BUDGIE all line up with these criterion. And now, this latest album from TYR joins the ranks. This is simply the best traditional / power metal album I've heard in years. TYR may list DREAM THEATER as one of their influences, but I've never heard anything by DT that matches the destroy-all-monsters intensity of the last groove in the closer "Eric the Red". I don't think King Kong tore it up that smartly! The track "Dreams" shows off TYR's songwriting prowess, set against constant riff changes and some strat-style blues licks reminiscent of my favorite old MERCYFUL FATE albums like "Melissa". This band has progressed considerably even since last year's fine "How Far to Asgaard" release, showcasing fine vocals, fine production, and a real sense of creativity. Try on some fresh new viking metal, baby!

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/tyr1

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