Simon RushworthVenger — Times Of Legends (Silver Lining Music)
Saxon ‘new boy’ Doug Scarratt requires no introduction to true devotees of trad metal as one of the driving forces of Barnsley’s finest since 1996.
Fresh from the band’s throwback run of headline shows at the back end of last year — alongside like-minded rabble rousers Udo Dirkschneider and Tygers Of Pan Tang — one of the UK’s foremost six stringers temporarily turns his attention to Venger.
And if Scarratt and fellow axe slinger James Fogerty (In The Woods/Old Forest) don’t deviate too far from the NWOBHM blueprint on this blast from the future past then that’s by no means a bad thing.
Times Of Legends is a series of fantasy-fuelled, cinematic narratives with unapologetic escapism and raw entertainment at their core.
Reality rarely bites on a fast-paced, fun as fuck debut that pitches Scarratt and Fogerty as teasing storytellers with an abundance of fantastical tales to tell.
Sonically Times Of Legends taps into Maiden, Helloween and Odyssey-era Yngwie Malmsteen but the subject matter’s more Dio and Voivod.
It all makes for a heavy metal thrill ride that’s as relentless as it’s revealing — Scarratt lets rip as he capitalises on a revitalising break from the day job.
Frontman Franz Bauer’s lung-busting display ensures Venger’s twin axe attack can never relax — and they don’t.
The Austrian (the voice behind Roadwolf’s Unchain The Wolf and Midnight Lightning) was born to rage hard with a range from the Gods.
And Bauer’s booming balls-to-the-wall bravado makes Times Of Legends the stuff of trad metal dreams.
Venger’s metal assault gathers pace
Album opener and lead single From Worlds Unknown is a wonderfully overblown snapshot of Venger’s fantasy metal brief.
Evidently influenced by Scarratt and Fogerty’s shared fascination for all things extra-terrestrial, it’s a thunderous four-and-a-half minute insight into the pair’s vivid imaginations.
And there’s plenty more where that came from.
Crystal Gazer’s brooding intro. screams Maiden-styled, epic storytelling and one of the standouts here doesn’t disappoint.
If only Venger could have stretched a killer track to six minutes-plus.
Bauer might be the ace in this tight-as-spandex band’s pack but let’s be honest — the guitars are the stars.
Scarrat’s on scorching form on Throw The Switch and sensational set closer Tower Of Babel.
And his admission that free fall solos are part and parcel of Times Of Legends’ DNA makes us wonder what Venger could bring to the table on tour…
Three songs in Bauer invites us to Navigate The Labyrinth but getting hopelessly lost in this trad metal tour de force is much more fun.
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