Hamburg natives Paragon often get automatically lumped into the power metal category because they play metal that's both melodic and filled with "Dungeons & Dragons" lyrics; but they could just as accurately be described as a "heritage" metal act, thanks to parallels in earlier bands like
Dio,
Manilla Road, and Germany's own
Grave Digger, as much as the thrash-infused, post-
Helloween set. Really, such particulars matter little, other than to highlight the fact that their albums -- including 2005's
Revenge, their sixth overall -- possess a decidedly "retro," 1980s feel about them, harking back to heavy metal's simpler, more innocent, and romanticized infancy. Or, as detractors might describe it: it means their lyrics are pretty dumb, with the aforementioned D&D themes regularly culminating in the painfully basic one-word choruses (à la
Grim Reaper) of opening trio "Impaler," "Assassins," and "Traitor" -- not to mention the title track. The nine-minute epic "Masters of the Seas" is thankfully significantly more elaborate and dredges up memories of swashbuckling pirate metal troupe
Running Wild, to boot, while majestic, slower-paced anthems such as "Symphony of Pain" and "Empire of the Lost" wear their
Saxon influences proudly on their sleeves. Polish it all off with a few pure speed metal romps ("The Battle Rages On," "The Art of War") in the image of Rage, a remarkably earnest cover of
Manowar's "The Gods Made Heavy Metal," and reliably explosive lead guitar playing that often proves the highlight of the whole experience, and there should be little doubt left in readers' minds as to whether they'll love or hate Paragon's music. Anything in between is quite frankly out of the question. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia