Headstone Epitaph are for fans of Judas Priest circa ‘Defenders Of The Faith’ and onwards, or all of Helloween’s late 80’s material.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Headstone Epitaph
ALBUM: Power Games
LABEL: Noise
SERIAL: TT 0043-2
YEAR: 1999
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Germany
LINEUP: Tim Benz – vocals * Martin Grimm – guitars * Jurgen Steinmetz – bass * Frankie Reinert – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Riddle * 02 The Game * 03 Victory * 04 Breaking The Law * 05 King Of Kill * 06 From The Mountains To The Sea * 07 Time * 08 Over The Rainbow * 09 Power Of Love * 10 Children Of The Sun * 11 Just For A Moment
Background
Why have I never heard of these guys before now? This is great stuff. Certainly made me go back and listen to my back catalog of Judas Priest and Black Sabbath albums that’s for sure.
From Germany, Headstone Epitaph first reared their ‘head’ back in 1987. It is obvious they take their calling cards from the likes of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and perhaps fellow Germans Helloween.
What they do so much better than all of them put together, is to play with total uncompromising power, combined with melodic-ness. If I could sum this band up in two words? ‘stainless steel’. Clean, hard, and powerful. The production from Pink Cream 69‘s Dennis Ward probably does help, as does the OTT riff-fest from axeslinger Martin Grimm and the double kick-drum extravaganza from Reinert.
The Songs
Of the songs then. ‘King Of Kill’ is nothing short of a solid wall of sound with mega riffing. ‘Over The Rainbow’ features some equally chainsaw cutting guitarwork, complete with rich vocals on the bridges and chorus.
‘Power Of Love’ emphasises the word ‘power’, though it is quite commercial and features another rich and memorable chorus. They give us a short 2 minute rendition of the Judas Priest classic ‘Breakin The Law’, while ‘The Game’ has snippets of 90’s era Vicious Rumors embedded in the song.
‘Victory’ has a slower deliberate start, but grinds away to the finish. A couple of epic pieces feature midway: ‘From The Mountains To The Sea’ has a swirly keyboard intro, but is overall, a majestic and melodic piece, with some frantic riffing going on. ‘Time’ is an album highlight – a ballad type opening, with the song being monumental.
In Summary
This is for fans of Judas Priest circa ‘Defenders Of The Faith and onwards, or all of Helloween‘s late 80’s material. These days you don’t see too many bands playing this style, and doing it so well.
It’s criminal that this band isn’t better known. Since their output appears to have stalled since this effort, one assumes the band are no longer, and perhaps deserve to have their own epitaph written about them? What a shame. In the meantime, check out Noise Records catalog, and get a cut of Germany’s polished stainless steel metal.. Melody and power rolled into one. Headstone Epitaph.
