The artist: Brocas Helm were quite a big name in the American traditional metal scene yet they seem to have done so little. Bob Wright formed the band in 1981 and only released three albums. The first two were in 1984 and 1988 while the most recent one Defenders of the Crown was released in 2004, 16 years after Black Death. Unfortunately, the band recently broke up after making their final show in April. It's a damn shame they never even made an appearance in the UK since their song appearances in Brutal Legend. I would have taken the one and only chance to see them live.
The album: Black Death is the second Brocas Helm album released in 1988. The album is short but sweet with a 29 minute duration in total. All eight tracks are great rocking tunes with the highlights being the speed metal frenzies Fall of the Curtain and the title track, the flute ballad Prophet's Scream and the strong medieval feel of The Chemist. This and Defenders of the Crown are worth picking up.
The song: Prepare for Battle might be rather simple in terms of lyrics but damn, if you want to have a song that makes you feel ready to go in a battlefield and slay whatever fiends try to get in your way, this is the one to hear. The riffs in this song are very fast as well as having some sweet basslines by Jim Schumacher that even SHRED during the solo at the end. The speed of the song and the song structure with the solo at the end makes it very fast pace and you'll be surprised at how fast a mere three minutes go with this song. Overall, Prepare for Battle is a great song by Brocas Helm and shows what they were capable of doing. It's a damn shame the band didn't stick around to make just one more album.
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