Gaia Epicus are of the Norwegian persuasion and have been around in various guises and differing names for around a decade and a half. Victory is their third album. I just confess that I have found their previous material enthusiastic but just lacking a little in the oomph department. I must also announce that I’ve generally found the vocals of Thomas Christian Hansen a bit flat and lacking in character. Still they persevere and I for one am always available for checking out anything of the power metal ilk. Apparently the band are big fans of Megadeth and Star Wars so I for one am interested to see how those facts manifest themselves on this disc which, has actually been knocking around mainland Europe for a few months now. 

On Victory I note that Mr. Hansen has adopted a slightly different, raspier singing voice and this suits both him and the band well. Apart from the somewhat flat drum sound this is a much better outing than the band’s previous efforts. It’s by no means perfect but there are some quality moments herein. 

One of them is Iron curtain, which strays onto Sabaton’s turf lyrically but is sufficiently different to pass enquiries from the plagiarism police. At nearly seven minutes long this is a suitably epic treatise on the subject matter and suggests that Gaia Epicus may yet make a bigger commercial breakthrough. 

The other key track is Rise of The Empire, which even to my uneducated ears sounds like a paean to Star Wars (no other reason to mention the Sith, I suppose). There’s a strong argument to suggest that this is, quite frankly ridiculous but since when did power metal exist with in the realms of normalcy? 

There are moments that I could do without (and without harping on… but…) the two short instrumentals, In Memory and When Darkness Falls add precisely nothing to the album but that is often the way with these interludes. In places the songs lack colour and hooks but the playing is universally fine even if occasionally the band sound like Metallica in power metal mode. Hmm, there’s a thought. 

Victory is a solid dependable album. It probably (almost certainly) won’t lift Gaia Epicus into the big league but there are many worse things you could do with a crispy ten-pound note.

Let us know your views on 'Victory'

Track Listing

New Life
Iron Curtain
The Sign
Revenge Is Sweet
In Memory
Awaken The Monster
Rise Of The Empire
When Darkness Falls
Fortress Of Solitude
Through The Fire
Victory

Line Up

Thomas Hansen - guitar/vocals
Joakim  Kjelstad - guitar
Hans Åge Holmen - bass
Ole Alexander Myrholt - drums