Our latest show, exploring new worlds of Moorcock inspired music in the company of the artist known as Elric and our very own Patron Demon, The Guljas, is doing brisk business and is on track to be our fastest downloaded show to date!
Since it was uploaded I’ve had some great conversations too, with some other music projects being thrown my way that are deserving of attention.
Our man Clarkey put me on to Italian power metal outfit Domine. From the outset they wore their influences on their sleeve (literally) with 1997’s release Champion Eternal, and they followed up with numerous Bob Howard and Moorcock influenced material, frequently featuring Elric on their cover art. A regular fixture across their releases is the epic and multipart track The Chronicle of the Black Sword.
They haven’t released anything since 2007 as far as I can tell, but they still have an active presence on social media and are still gigging. If power metal is your thing they deserve a look.
More recently I came across Canadian outfit Smoulder via their track Ilian of Garathorm. They’ve released an album and an EP, easily available via Bandcamp, and they’ve got it all… chunky chest beating riffs, a cracking rhythm section and, to top it off, powerful, melodic vocals and epic, heroic fantasy inspired tales to tell.
Finally, coming very much from the more classic NWOBHM inspired end of the metal spectrum, Eternal Champion have been knocking out some galloping goodness with a strong Moorcock influence and, in the tradition of their classic metal forebears, have got faster, crisper and more intricate over the time they’ve been active. Their last release, Ravening Iron, dropped in November last year and it’s a beast.
If there’s anyone else out there doing Arioch’s work, drop me a line.
Andy
