Armageddon was started by Christopher Amott (Arch Enemy) in the mid-90's After the recording of their debut in 1997, Christopher announced that he couldn't devote time to both Armageddon and Arch Enemy, thus deciding to focus on on the latter. But still 2 more albums have since appeared, curiously released in Japan only, with varying lineup. Armageddon has also gone through some musical changes. From the mix of death and thrash metal on the debut, to the more upbeat, almost hard rock feel, mixed with the European power metal style.

CROSSING THE RUBICON (1997) WAR MUSIC (Japanese edition)

  1. 2022 (Intro)
  2. Godforsaken
  3. The Juggernaut Divine
  4. Astral Adventure
  5. Funeral In Space - instrumental
  6. Asteroid Dominion
  7. Galaxies Away - instrumental
  8. Faithless
  9. Children Of The New Sun - instrumental
  10. Into The Sun

Line-up:

Christopher Amott - Guitars

Peter Wildoer - Drums, Percussion

Martin Bengtsson - Bass

Jonas Nyren - Vocals

Additional musicians:

Fredrik Nordström - Keyboards

Jakob Torma - Violin

Rasmus Fletscher - Recorder

Michael Amott - Vocals

Armageddon is an interesting band in many aspects. They are fairly unknown to the masses, yet the band includes well known musicians. And on top of that, they deliver quality music! At least that is what we get on this, their debut album. Musically they are a mix of death and thrash metal. If you are familiar with Arch Enemy, then you might know what to expect, to a certain degree. If you also add some latter day Carcass, and a tad of jazz/fusion influences, and you might be on your way to understand what we're dealing with here. But more on that later. After an awesomely heavy intro, the band rips through "Godforsaken". This number is a fitting start, as it showcases everything this band are about. It's fast and furious, but also very technically excellent, sprinkled with a jazzy guitar-solo. Add to this the soaring, screaming death metal vocals, and you get the point. And the album continues to blow you away musically and technically. The spice it all up with some odd instruments and weird musical voyages. Lyrically we're talking science-fiction. Just take a look at the songs titles. 'Crossing The Rubicon' sports 4 instrumental tracks. They all serve as breathing spaces throughout the album, weather it is the beautiful "Funeral In Space", complete with acoustic guitars, flute and violin, or the even more noticeable "Galaxies Away", which is an all percussions number. So to say that these guys have originality would not be far fetched. I recommend this album wholeheartedly.

Killer tracks: 2022, Godforsaken, The Juggernaut Divine, Funeral In Space, Into The Sun

Related artists:

Arch Enemy, In Flames, Majestic