VIGILANCE
“Vigilance”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Vigilance are a heavy metal band from Slovenia formed in 2010, releasing five albums to date – ‘Queen Of The Midnight Fire’ (2013), ‘Hounds Of Megiddo’ (2015), ‘Hammer Of Satan’s Vengeance’ (2017), ‘Enter The Endless Abyss’ (2019), and the mini-album ‘Vigilance’, released in 2022…

…featuring a sound that blends together bands such as Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Bathory, and Venom. The bands most recent long player ‘Enter The Endless Abyss’ finally brought Vigilance the recognition they deserved, bringing the band to the attention of metal heads all around the world. And with their self titled mini-album progressing the bands sound even further, Vigilance are now threatening to break through to the upper echelons of the heavy metal genre. Five songs across twenty five fabulous minutes, begins with the barn storming ‘Na Krilih Noci’ – full of pace and melodious intent. ‘Na Krilih Noci’ has the smell of traditional heavy metal, with the feeling of the iconic “foot on the monitor” gallop that legends Iron Maiden arguably invented.

With a guitar sound straight outta the NWOBHM era, Vigilance move swiftly on with the pulsating ‘Roka Pogube’. And with the band singing in their native tongue (I think), it just echoes the sentiment that music is a universal language, and it doesn’t really matter what language the songs are sung in – it’s the music that matters. And that’s where Vigilance are beginning to excel, their latest release an attractive five song march of metal. With a heavier feel than either of the two previous songs, ‘Veliki Briljantni Valcek’ is a thunderous yet highly melodic stroll of infectious heavy metal. The kinda metal you smile at, and then turn the volume up. ‘Veliki Briljantni Valcek’ also turns out to have no vocals, along with a strong nod to ‘Maiden’s early days, and their first two albums in particular . . . think ‘Transylvania’ and ‘Genghis Khan’ combined.

And with a much bigger and bolder sound than anything heard so far, ‘Arbogastov Plamen’ is a thundering and highly anthemic slab of hard hitting heavy metal. The oomph of ‘Arbogastov Plamen’ is incredible, the punch as weighty as a world champion boxer delivering a knockout blow! It’s a shame this release has only five songs – there’s just not enough music here. ‘Cause the next song, is the final song…although there is nearly seven minutes of it! Which is the kinda song length that ‘Maiden finish many of their albums with. ‘Orbis Mundi’ has one helluva lead in, an anticipation fuelled crescendo that lasts for over two minutes before the song breaks into its stride. And what a stride it is! Melodic, majestic, and marching, ‘Orbis Mundi’ a veritable album closer of immense proportions.

Overall, a melodious five song stroll of traditional heavy metal, infectious, addictive, and well worth its place in your collection.

TRACKLIST

Na Krilih Noci
Roka Pogube
Veliki Briljantni Valcek
Arbogastov Plamen
Orbis Mundi

https://vigilanceofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/VigilanceAdelsberg/

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