Guardians of Time: Tearing Up the World (Rock of Angels)

Norwegian heavy/power metal band Guardians of Time is back with a new album, their fifth to date, titled Tearing Up the World. The long-running band, which features former members of Susperia and Trail of Tears, pulled out all the stops for this album, which features guest appearances by Abbath (yes, that Abbath) and Tim “Ripper” Owens (ex-Iced Earth, ex-Judas Priest) and was mixed and mastered at Studio Friedman.

Guardians of Time resides in that sweet spot between full-on power metal and traditional heavy metal, drawing inspiration from Helloween and Gamma Ray as well as Saxon and Riot. They’re in the same general arena as bands like Masterplan, Gods of Silence, Nocturnal Rites and most of the Magnus Karlsson projects. Killer melodies and flashy guitar work are paired with straight-up heavy metal rhythms and a powerful, classic vocal style, and they all come together perfectly here.

Tearing Up the World kicks off with the heavy, speedy title track, which features Abbath adding his signature growls to great effect. It’s not a full-on growl-fest though; just enough to make the song really interesting. Ripper’s contribution on “As I Burn” is also a highlight, but throughout the album it’s the melodic, high-speed anthems like “Kingdom Come,” “We’ll Bring War” and “Valhalla Awaits” that showcase the best of Guardians of Time’s sound.

When bands can pull off that heavy/traditional/power metal sound and make it exciting, it’s a winning formula, and Guardians of Time got it right with Tearing Up the World. This is exactly the kind of heavy, melodic, and memorable album that fans of bands like Nocturnal Rites, Masterplan, Gods of Silence, Magnus Karlsson and Iron Savior ought to love. Hopefully this is the album to really push this band to mainstream power metal fans.