GENGIS KHAN
“Possessed By The Moon”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9.5/10

Gengis Khan are a heavy metal band from Italy formed in 2012 by vocalist Frank Leone, releasing their debut album ‘Gengis Khan Was A Rocker’ in 2013. The bands sophomore album ‘Colder Than Heaven’ was released in 2021, with third album ‘Possessed By The Moon’ a 2022 release.

Featuring an epic and majestic sound similar to German power metallers Powerwolf, the new album from Gengis Khan is nine songs and forty two minutes of gloriously catchy heavy metal. The band blaze through a myriad of metal styles – speed, power, traditional, and even throw in an incredible ballad! ‘Possessed By The Wolf’ opens the album and is a staggering melodic metal masterpiece! Combining nuances from the symphonic, power, and traditional genres of metal, ‘Possessed By The Wolf’ is a heavy yet melodious number that sets the trend for what is to come – a blistering barrage of infectious heavy metal. At over six minutes in length ‘In The Name Of Glory’ is by far and away the longest song on offer, and is an epic in every sense of the word. From its mellow, anticipation fuelled intro through to the classic sound of NWOBHM guitars, ‘In The Name Of Glory’ is a ground shuddering slab of heaviness. A heaviness that is complimented with the bands massive melodious intent. What a bold, bombastic opening double salvo…

…that becomes a triple with the lightning quick ‘Extreme Power’ – look out DragonForce and Cellador, here come Gengis Khan to rip the “kings of speed metal” crown right off yer fucking heads! For ‘Extreme Power’ displays extreme pace, banging heads violently as it roars past with a menacing thunder. And at the opposite end of the scale, ‘Eternal Flame’ is an emotionally charged power ballad – with regular readers already knowing what’s coming next! Ballads are for rock albums and not metal ones – with a number of exceptions: metal legends Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, German power metallers Rage, and anthemic American metal gods Manowar, just to name a few. As for ‘Eternal Flame’ – it actually fits quite well! After the boisterous barrage of the first three songs, Gengis Khan deliver a masterstroke of genius by offering a calmer, more serene song for listeners to catch a breath. The positioning at the early stage of the album is brilliance, getting listeners hooked, and then rocking their aural boats with a dramatic change in tempo and intensity – because from now ’til the albums end is a searing journey of fire and brimstone.

All kicking off with the title song ‘Possessed By The Moon’ – a thunderous mid paced thunder storm, with a crowd participation chant style “possessed by the moon” acting as a little chorus break. I tell ya, the band are just getting fired up, their brand of bold, bombastic, and highly anthemic metal is building to a crescendo of head bang ability. ‘Sandman’ sees the return of fast paced heavy metal to the album – massively traditional, and displaying the iconic “foot on the monitor” feel of old school metal. Gengis Khan are raising the intensity and powering on with total aplomb, ‘The Wall Of Death’ proceeding to batter the senses with a barrage of bone breaking heaviness. Unless you want your skull crushed by the ravaging riffs, I suggest you duck! NOW! But us diehard metal heads are standing tall and screaming at Gengis Khan “is that all you’ve got”…

…to which the band defiantly roar back “NO”, hitting us where it really hurts, with the red hot haymaker ‘Long Live The Rebels’. Blistering pace hits very hard, as ‘Long Live The Rebels’ races on with a rabble rousing call to arms intensity, and a chorus that everyone will be singing along to. So raise your fists high and punch the air in salute to one of the best songs the album has to offer – and continue to punch the air, as the final song comes marching over the horizon. The self titled ninth song ‘Gengis Khan’ (confirmed as a bonus song), returns the fire and brimstone barrage of earlier. The intensity, pace, and purpose is incredible, the heaviness heavier than anything else on offer – the band ending their third album with a fantastic final flourish.

Overall, a thunderous yet highly melodic march of infectious heavy metal.

TRACKLIST

Possessed By The Wolf
In The Name Of Glory
Extreme Power
Eternal Flame
Possessed By The Moon
Sandman
The Wall Of Death
Long Live The Rebels
Gengis Khan (bonus)

https://gengiskhan1.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Gengiskhanmetal/

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