Invictus (1998, Noise)
Lineup: David Defeis (vocals, keyboards), Edward Pursino (guitars), Frank Gilchriest (drums),
Rob Demartino (bass)
This album is supposedly the third installment of the "Marriage of Heaven and Hell" saga but
it far, far superior to the first two. Gone are the cheesy 80s metal sound and arrangements,
replaced by production reminiscent of the better Manowar era. For good or bad, VS have now
completed the transition to become fully fledged Manowar clones. Except they do it better.
Although Defeis is no Eric Adams in the vocal department, he is credible. The songs are tight,
mostly fast tempo and quite relentless. The other positive characteristic of this release is
that it is a concept album, something that Manowar never gave their fans. Unlike the usual
gawdawful "themes" masquerading as lyrics, there's actually some (not too much) thought that
went into these. Overall, Defeis & Co. deliver an excellent piece of power metal that has few
competitors. The CD cover artwork is truly beautiful.
Verdict: very strong and robust album, power metal fans can't go wrong here.
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