Beast - Ancient Powers Rising

Not least in Germany, there have been quite a few metal bands in recent decades that have taken the name Beast. So, just to clarify: the following review is about Beast from Osnabrück, founded in 2019.

With Ancient Powers Rising, the quartet, consisting of Philipp (vocals, guitars), Thomas (guitars), Kai (bass) and Julian (drums), presents its debut album. Stylistically, we are dealing with classic metal in a modern sound, performed with extraordinary professionalism. It's hard to believe that this is an underground band that doesn't already have several albums and extensive tours under its belt.

What makes Ancient Powers Rising particularly appealing are the numerous epic moments. This of course corresponds with the lyrics, the opener is about hunting dragons – a theme that always delights me.

But don't worry, nothing here is overly sweet or garnished with cheesy keyboards. Beast like to press the accelerator and, above all, offer food for fans who, in addition to heavy metal, also listen to decent power metal, which primarily thrives on energetic riffing.

The number of sing-along anthems is remarkable – in this respect, I couldn't help but think of the, in my opinion, awesome Hammer King, who are among the best in this discipline that the German metal scene has to offer.

Fortunately, Philipp has a great voice that is instantly recognisable, making it easy to pick Beast out from the large amount of stylistically similar releases. Together with Thomas, he also forms an excellent guitar duo that brings back memories of old heroes that we will unfortunately never see together on stage again.

And that leads us to the last point: Of course, these lads from Osnabrück don't offer anything really new. But they manage to mix well-known ingredients in such a way that Ancient Powers Rising is a high-quality record that puts me in an extremely good mood. I give it a clear buy recommendation for fans of the genre!

Beast on Bandcamp: Click here.