This is the seventh album from US power metallers Judicator.
2020’s Let There Be Nothing was a good album, but 2022’s The Majesty of Decay was a revelation. It was my favourite album from that year, and is simply a fantastic record. It’s rare for lightning to strike twice though, so I tried to go into the 50-minute Concord with expectations tempered, especially as Judicator now have a largely new lineup and a less-personally themed album.
Ahh, but it’s a joy to hear the band again, in particular their charismatic singer. Yep, this is the stuff. This band, I dunno…they just hit the spot. The songs, the melodies, the songwriting, the bloody singer whose voice does something to me I can’t quite explain. This is why I love power metal and heavy metal so much, despite so often being disappointed by the style’s output. Judicator do not disappoint.
Every song on Concord is an epic unto itself. The music brings the band’s old-school power metal influences to the forefront, and has resulted in an album that adheres to the genre more closely than The Majesty of Decay. However, it still does this with great personality of its own, and doesn’t leave what made The Majesty of Decay so special completely behind. To be fair, I think Judicator have got the balance right on Concord, as if they had just tried to recreate their previous record it would likely have just fallen flat on its face. Standing in its own merits, Concord rules.
Synths and orchestration layer the music richly, and the album is detailed and multifaceted, with a lot of creative ideas across the running time that add spice. The saxophone break on A Miracle of Life, or brief harsh vocals and blast beats on Imperial, are just a couple of examples, but pretty much every song has something going on.
Concord leans less into the emotional depth and darkness of its predecessor, and ranges into wider waters that encompass a variety of emotional tools. The Majesty of Decay also had variety and texture of course, but it was underpinned by a very personal heart, whereas Concord has a more diverse selection of underpinning components. This, in essence, is why The Majesty of Decay is still Judicator’s magnum opus to me. Even acknowledging this though doesn’t diminish this record’s potency; Concord is still a completely superior example of power metal and stands head and shoulders above the majority of the competition in 2025. It has depth, feeling, and huge vocals. What’s not to like?
Judicator remain one of the absolute best in the genre, and it’s ridiculous that they are not a bigger band. If you’re a fan of the style, this is a mandatory listen. DO NOT MISS!!!
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