Somewhere between sharing the glory of our present day musical gladiators and the first time you plugged in your new electric guitar, there’s a middle ground where dreams and reality meet at the crossroads. It’s a place between the worry and the glory. That space between “Never heard of you!” and “May I have your autograph?” It’s a non geographical / musical location that you’re happy playing in, as long as you are constantly moving forward. But your direction is clear because there’s your bands flyer up ahead that reads NEXT STOP!...

By James (JJ Rocks) Johnston

Ok all you heavy metal heads! We have discovered a band from Serbia that is going to give you one of the best metal sounds that we have ever received at our web site! Usually the metal mp3s that we receive sound very uniform and don’t break away from the “normal metal” to the “artistic metal”. What I mean by that is that some metal bands seem destined to stay inside of a style that doesn’t usually generate a wide variety of approaches. Most of them just seem to feel comfortable staying inside of a metal “speed box”. But this is not so with the first metal band that we ever featured in St. Croix Music Magazine. This band manages to take metal to a level that is rarely heard in this genre. This band is called “Masque of Betrayal”.

I could name all of the players, but I rather focus on the band in general. If you want their bio, you can visit them in our bands column and get the link for their site. But I’m not going to waste your time with these easy to find facts. Instead I’m going to tell you how great they are. And after all, isn’t that what is most important.

I just got finished listening to “Agony”, which is the cut that the band sent us. It’s very cool because it pulls you along at a moderate metal pace, and then takes you on a journey down unexpected musical twists and turns while still keeping your interest directed to the main theme of the song. This kind of musical expertise and adventurism only grows from a garden nourished by serious minded musicians. The band “Masque of Betrayal” has found the perfect balance between the commercial aspects of heavy metal music and the ability to gain respect from the musical community as a whole. And that is hard to find during a time when so many metal bands are made of plastic.

So in conclusion, Dorothy and I agree that this is a band that deserves to not have print wasted on who plays what and where they were born. I as a writer find myself stumped when searching for new words to compliment their approach and formula. Maybe that’s because I tend to lean more towards respecting their musical collaboration than I do towards many other groups of musicians that are standing in line waiting to be noticed as virtuosos. – JJ

Download: “Agony” by Masque of Betrayal

May, 2007