Entirely ludicrous, and you wouldn’t dare explain it.
That, really, is the point of Angus McSix. The minute you start trying to map out the lore, work out who’s trapped in what ice prison, or why everybody appears to be armed with either a giant sword or a chorus designed to level mountains, you’ve already missed the fun. This is a band that knows exactly how silly it is, and more importantly knows exactly how to make that silliness work.
Following a debut that made far more noise than plenty of supposedly “serious” metal records, “Angus McSix And The All-Seeing Astral Eye” picks up the story with Adam McSix stepping forward as the new main man. That passing of the torch is handled on “6666”, which is, frankly, worse than the number of the beast and proud of it. Batshit crackers, then, but with enough pomp and punch to remind you that this lot are never just messing about for the sake of it.
“The Fire Of Yore” properly opens the new chapter and Adam introduces himself in a register only dogs can hear. And yet, somehow, it is exactly what you want from power metal. It is absurd, massive, melodic and delivered with enough conviction to carry the whole daft enterprise. “I Am Adam McSix” follows with Rhapsody Of Fire in tow, and it soars. Bonkers, certainly, but also huge fun, the sort of thing that only works if everybody involved commits absolutely everything to it.
That total commitment is what makes the record better than a novelty. “Dig Down”, with Van Canto adding to the madness, has its tongue surely lodged in its cheek, while “Techno Men” – featuring Turmion Kätilöt – asks whether you fancy a disco and then answers by dragging the whole thing into the fires of hell. It should be ridiculous. It is ridiculous. But it is also catchy as anything.
“Ork Zero” and “Starlight Stronghold” keep the energy ludicrously high, both sounding like they operate on the principle that excess is not merely acceptable, it is mandatory. More is more here, always. Stripped down this is not. But then “Aetheriyja” shows there is some craft underneath all the oversized armour and heroic posing, the synth-driven instrumental proving these songs are built with more thought than the concept might first suggest.
Then comes “Let The Search Begin”, and this is where the album’s biggest trick is revealed. For all the laughter, all the raised eyebrows, all the nonsense, the choruses are deadly serious. This one is built for fists in the air, loud and proud. “The Power Of Metal”, with Freedom Call along for the ride, is similarly shameless. He’s got a big sword or something, the song is literally about the power of metal, and what makes it work is that nobody seems remotely interested in pretending it is anything else.
By the time “Into Battle” brings the credits up with a grand, overblown flourish, you’re left with the sense that Angus McSix have found exactly what they are supposed to be: charmingly quizzical, gloriously over the top and undefeatably entertaining. The storytelling is daft, the pathos is piled on by the shovel-load, and the hooks are big enough to carry the whole thing through.
Metal wins the day, obviously. On this evidence, so does Angus McSix.
RATING 7/10
