Thy Majestie - Jeanne D’ Arc
Scarlet Records

file under heavy / power metal

Patrick: In the year 1428 France is slightly panicking. The country has been in war for ages with England and the English seems to be on the winning hand. Jeanne d’Arc (Joanne of Arc), an ignorant peasants girl from merely seventeen years old, claims to hear voices coming from God who tell here that she is the chosen one to liberate France from the English. She decides to dedicate her life to the liberation of France from the hands of the foreign intruders and seeks contact with the France dauphine Charles VII. After some sepsis Jeanne is to be believed and as commander of a horde of soldiers Jeanne disperse the enemy and at the 8th of May 1429 she knows to end the siege of Orleans. This success appeals to the sentiment and self-awareness of the France, after which Jeanne convinces Charles VII that it is time to have him crowned as the king of France. In 1930 Jeanne is being captured by the people from Bourgogne, who sell her to an accomplice from the English. In 1431 a trail against Jeanne because of heresy and witchery and she is being condemned to the funeral pyre. At the 30th of May she is burned in Rouen (France) as a witch and France gains another national hero and legend.

574 years later this little piece of France history is still appealing to the Italian power metal band Thy Majestie. Even this much that it inspired them to a full cd, on which the band guides you in twelve tracks into the intriguing story of ‘The Maid of Orleans’. And just like it becomes Thy Majestie, and as the band already showed us at their previous full-length cd ’Hastings 1066, this takes place in a diverge variegation of melodic power metal full of epic interludes, blasts of trumpets and choirs, which makes it very atmospherically. The songs are yet again bursting of complex structures, a lot of changes in pace and vocals being sung full of emotional intensity. In 2003 vocalist Dario Grillo, who with his specific vocals was very outlining for the sound of Thy Majestie, left the band but rapidly an adequate replacement was found in Giulio Di Gregorio. Dario Grillo is not being missed at all as the voice of Giulio is a little warmer and less high pitched as those of Dario and therefore more accessible. Most of the songs at ‘Jeanne d’Arc’ are long tracks, with the nine minutes of ‘The Trial’ as longest track, but remain appealing because of the huge variation.

For those who think history at school is boring, but need to know more about the story of Jeanne d’Arc, this cd is a recommending. For those who like bombastic power metal this highly distinguished and diverge cd is a must-have!

Rating: 90/100 (details)

http://www.thymajestie.com