The Wake

Liege Lord is a band that is sadly unknown to many metalheads. Their music is of the traditional American power metal variety, meaning it is more aggressive and thrashier than the ridiculously happy European brand of the genre. On Master Control, Paul Nelson truly shows himself as a virtuoso guitar player, boasting his speed, heaviness, and intricacy. Joe Comeau’s vocals are marvelous. They remind me a great deal of Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) mixed with a little bit of Lizzy Borden and Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate. It has a commanding and masculine power, but is also of the soaring variety. There is a very memorable cover of Rainbow’s “Kill the King,” and the band truly shows their skill here. They own the song on this performance, and by matching Ritchie Blackmore’s playing, Nelson and Tony Truglio show their impressive guitar skills. Of course, the greatest tracks are those written by Liege Lord themselves. Album opener “Fear Itself” begins the proceedings with a great burst of energy; the Iron Maiden-esque “Rapture” actually holds up to much of that great band’s material; and “Fall Out” concludes the album with both brief, brooding moments and great pieces of thrashing energy. Master Control is an album all fans of metal, even casual, should seek out.