Judicator – I Am The Void EP
Judicator – I Am The Void (EP)
Self-Released
Release Date: 08/12/23
Running Time: 14:52
Review by Simon Black
8/10
I reviewed an earlier Judicator full length “Let There Be Nothing” a while back and although you can hear the worship at the altar of Blind Guardian throughout (well hey, the two founders met at one of their gigs), it had enough of its own gumption to stand up on its own. Over time I have grown fonder of them that I did when I first reviewed them, and to be fair the only thing that let it down was the slightly off-kilter production. Since then they’ve stepped out of the shadow of their biggest influence a little more, with another full length since, and now this EP feels like a toe-dipping exercise, as the band start to play more firmly in their own vein whilst still nodding to Hansi et al.
The title track is a superbly well-crafted Progressive Power Metal opus which although it takes its time, doesn’t do it by wastage for the sake of it. Its gentle introduction doesn’t hang around as much as you would expect for a nine-minute song, and neither does it pad itself out with unnecessary instrumental profligacy, but spends that time actually taking you on a journey that belies its length, and those nine minutes frisk by.
The second track tips the hat properly to Blind Guardian with a cover of their ‘The Curse of Feanor’ from the classic “Nightfall in Middle Earth” album. John Yelland really is a dead ringer for Hansi Kirsch, but this is all about the love, but also feels like a final parting, as by all accounts the album I missed was when they really stepped away more confidently in their own direction, and if that’s anything like the title track of this rather short EP, then that’s all for the good.
Judicator – The Curse of Feanor
TRACKLISTING:
01. I Am The Void
02. The Curse of Feanor (Blind Guardian Cover)
LINE-UP:
John Yelland – Vocals
John Dolan – Bass
Balmore Lemus – Guitar
Jordy Elcess – Drums
Guest musicians:
Alexander Bosson – Drums
Francisco Pérez – Keyboards, orchestration
LINKS:
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