Theocracy is a power metal band from the USA formed in 2002, releasing five albums to date – ‘Theocracy’ (2003), ‘Mirror Of Souls’ (2008), ‘As The World Bleeds’ (2011), ‘Ghost Ship’ (2016), and ‘Mosaic’, emerging in 2023…
…featuring ten songs over an incredible sixty-six minutes! And when I say incredible minutes, I really mean breathtaking minutes! For the band push the limits of speed and intensity further than the likes of DragonForce, Cellador, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius and Victorius – the five-piece outfit from America delivering high velocity, head bang-able power metal to please!
Album opener ‘Flicker’ is a bombastic and lightning-fast metaller that’s gonna get the heart racing of every metalhead in the world – the band displaying devastating speed straight out the blocks! The crown of “kings of extreme speed metal” held by UK metallers DragonForce for many years, is now in danger of being taken away – Theocracy blitzing the airways, destroying speed limits and setting new records! ‘Flicker’ is a spectacular opening salvo, pumping adrenaline faster than the speed of fucking light! And at the end of the song when the band are singing the chorus line “flicker for a moment, flicker for a moment then we’re gone”, and actually drop the “gone” word, ending ‘Flicker’ abruptly – they get me every time! I end up singing “gone” during the short pause between songs one and two – and you will be too! For this is an absolute genius, right up there with Def Leppard and the false ending to their 1987 hit single ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ (off the band ‘Hysteria’ album) – causing radio DJ’s everywhere to start talking, only to be interrupted by the resumption of the song! Kudos guys, kudos.
And after that electrifying opening, Theocracy stormed on with the much heavier ‘Anonymous’ keeping the pedal firmly pressed to the metal, speeding down the freeway faster than a bank robber trying to evade the police! Turning heads wherever it’s heard or played, ‘Anonymous’ is an absolute corker, a crowd pleaser, and a terrific example of how fucking great power metal is! And with only two songs gone, methinks the American outfit and ‘Mosaic’ are one of the strongest contenders for the Album Of The Year title! The (album) title song ‘Mosaic’ hits the brakes very sharply, slowing right down to a mid-tempo stroll, evoking a strong feel of impending balladry – for the first minute or so anyway! And then the band dropped the hammer down, with ‘Mosaic’ (the song) thundering off into the distance, the iconic gallop of traditional heavy metal shining ever so brightly.
The band are a power metal outfit, yet meld traits of traditional, and progressive metal into their immense sonic arsenal, delivering catchy and infectious heavy metal to a wide array of fans and followers – and at over six and a half minutes in length, ‘Sinsidious (The Dogs Of War)’ is the longest song heard so far! And is a colossal swagger of majesty and elegance, portraying pace, power and progressive leanings – the band emptying both barrels high into the air. Theocracy began ‘Mosaic’ (the album) at breakneck speed, the album remaining at full tilt ever since, giving the headbangers of the world a fantastic feast of headbang ability! Boy, there’s gonna be some sore necks in the morning! The morning! That’s tomorrow! No need to worry about that now, ’cause there’s tonnes more metal to come – the album blazing a fiery trail across the land with the red hot scorcher ‘Return To Dust’. And the first feel of anthemic heavy metal rises high in the air, the band pounding the ground, crumbling walls and shaking buildings to their foundations! The immense power oozing from ‘Return To Dust’ is simply incredible, Theocracy and ‘Mosaic’ (the album) are one of this year’s biggest surprises.
With half the album gone – a half that has delivered treat after treat – the second half gets underway with the majestic melodic metaller ‘The Sixth Great Extinction’, the guitar tone a sound so synonymous with the legendary NWOBHM evolution. An evolution that began over forty years ago, four and a half thousand miles away from the American five-piece! Were any members of the band actually born by then? Regardless of the answer, ‘The Sixth Great Extinction’ nods heavily in the direction of the eighties, perfectly echoing the sound I grew up with. The band presses down very hard on the pedal, accelerating to maximum speed for the blistering ‘Deified’, ignoring speed limits and sending metalheads to head-banging heaven! For ‘Deified’ is the most head bang-able friendly song on offer, involuntarily rocking heads back and forth at a faster rate than anywhere else on the album! An album that began fast, and hasn’t looked back since.
And at just over three minutes in length, ‘The Greatest Hope’ is the shortest song on offer, yet has immense poise and grandeur – a hymn-like nature descending upon the album. Along with a mellowness and serenity not heard anywhere else, Theocracy offers a breather from the incredible pace, power and intensity of ‘Mosaic’ (the album) up to this point. Some may liken ‘The Greatest Hope’ to balladry, and while I mostly disagree with ballads appearing on metal albums, some bands just have the skill and know-how to seamlessly include them, perfectly fitting into the whole aesthetic of an album – bands such as Iron Maiden, Rage and Saxon are just a few of the bands that can do this! And now Theocracy too – ‘Liar, Fool, Or Messiah’ taking over as the longest song on offer, clocking in at seven and a half minutes! And the return of blistering speed too – the band taking off like a jet fighter roaring into war! Yet ‘Liar, Fool, Or Messiah’ is incredibly melodic, Theocracy maintaining the phenomenal melodious streak running right through the heart of the album.
And with the final song looming large over the horizon, ‘Mosaic’ (the album) is one of my favourite albums of the year – and surely will be one of yours too! I reckon it’s gonna be on many metalhead’s wish list for Christmas – and with Christmas only two weeks away, you’d better be quick and grab a copy of what has simply been a stunning album! An album that comes to a close with a new longest song – the monolithic ‘Red Sea’ clocking in at over nineteen minutes in length! Eclipsing every long song epic by Iron Maiden, a band famous for their long songs, (and for all you fact fans out there, ‘Maiden’s longest song is ‘Empire Of The Clouds’ (off the band’s 2016 album ‘Book Of Souls’) which clocks in at only eighteen minutes in length), Theocracy deliver the icing on the cake, the piece de resistance with every style of metal in their very impressive arsenal. Now I don’t really wanna tell you much about ‘Red Sea’, for fear of sending you a “spoiler alert”. However, I will say this, standing ovation, climactic, and orgasmic are just three of the descriptors I would use to highlight the album’s stunning finale.
Overall, a breathtaking barrage of highly infectious, melodious power metal delivered at a pace with immense levels of energy, passion and pizzazz.
TRACKLIST
Flicker
Anonymous
Mosaic
Sinsidious (The Dogs Of War)
Return To Dust
The Sixth Great Extinction
Deified
The Greatest Hope
Liar, Fool, Or Messiah
Red Sea
Theocracy: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Atomic Fire Records
Category: Album
Country: USA
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
